Wolt, which achieved unicorn status in 2020, wants to enable brick-and-mortar to compete with Amazon and Alibaba.

Finnish food-to-grocery delivery startup Wolt is going all-out to achieve a huge cash pile, double and down on growth in all its verticals. It also has an IPO, perhaps in 2022, in its sights.

The company announced today that it raised $530 million in a round led by ICONIQ Growth. New investors Tiger Global, DST, KKR, Prosus, EQT Growth, and Coatue signed on for the funding. Existing investors 83North, Highland Europe, Goldman Sachs Growth Equity, EQT Ventures, and Vintage Investment Partners also participated. (Sifted)

The round brings Wolt’s funding to an aggregate of $856 million. The company did not disclose its valuation for the new round. However, it achieved the coveted unicorn status last year.

Growth with the last round still in the bank

Wolt confirmed to Sifted that it hasn’t yet used “a single euro” of the €100 million it raised in May 2020. The round was meant to be insurance against slowing growth due to the pandemic. As things turned out, the virus sped up revenues at Wolt.

Last year Wolt tripled revenues to $345 million at a net loss of $45 million. It diversified beyond restaurants and takeaways into grocery and retail.

Compared to last year, when the company had 700 employees, it now has a workforce of 2,200. During the same period, it broadened its geographical footprint from 20 countries to 129 cities in 23 countries.

So why the new money?

“We raised this round of financing to further strengthen our balance sheet, allowing us to think long-term and double down on building even stronger positions across our markets while continuing to expand our offering beyond the restaurant,” said Miki Kuusi, CEO & co-founder of Wolt, in a statement.

The startup also intends to invest in its people, technology, and markets “when thinking about the next few years ahead.”

Wolt’s missions for the years ahead

Wolt has twin missions.

On the one hand, Wolt wants to become “the everything app” of retail goods and services. Kuusi told TechCrunch that the company had therefore evolved from being just a restaurant delivery service to groceries, electronics, flowers, clothes, and more.

Wolt’s second mission is to use its powerful technology and logistics network to help out the beleaguered brick-and-mortar retail outlets.

“The opportunity is to equip brick and mortar stores to compete with Amazon and Alibaba — and be better than them,” Kuusi said to Sifted.

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