BackWho is Apoorva Mehta, the Instacart founder who gained $1.1 billion with his exit from the startup post IPO-stock surge
Instacart co-founder Apoorva Mehta has separated from the company after making $1.1 billion from its IPO launch. He will remain the largest shareholder.
PremiumInstacart co-founder, Apoorva Mehta, separated from the start-up after generating a whopping $1.1 billion of fortune from its IPO launch, reported Bloomberg.
However, Apoorva Mehta will continue to be the largest shareholder in the company. He had stepped down as the CEO of the firm in August 2021.Later, he took over his board position as executive chairman as part of the IPO proceedings. Now, he has handed over all the responsibility of his post to currenc CEO Fidji Simo, who is a former Meta Platforms executive.
The company was founded in 2012. Since then, the startup has transformed from a Webvan clone to the largest grocery-delivery business in the US Revenue.
The company was at its peak in March 2021 post COVID boost. At that time, the firm was valued by venture capitalists at $39 billion.
However, due to rising inflation, the firm began to struggle and cut its internal valuation three times last year to around $13 billion in October.
Fall in Instacart IPO one day after its debut
On Monday, Instacart priced its IPO at $30 a share. With this, its valuation rose to $9.9 billion. On the day of IPO launch, company shares jumped more than 40 per cent when they started trading Tuesday in New York.
However, the grocery delivery firm sank below its IPO price on just its second day of trading. This has highlighted the difficulty faced by the company in convincing investors of its plans to expand into advertising and the grocery software business.
The grocery delivery company, which is incorporated as Maplebear Inc., fell about 11% to close at $30.10. In the last hour of trading, it sank more as low as $29.96, sliding below the $30 level that shares were sold at in the IPO. Shares initially jumped as much as 43% on Tuesday, only to fade into the close and end higher by 12%.
At the time of the launch of instacart, Apoorva Mehta said that the focus of the firm is on its long-term performance.
“What matters is how Instacart performs over the next few years, rather than what it means on day one," Mehta said in a telephone interview after the stock began trading. “We focus more on the long-term and that’s what we’re excited about," reported Bloomberg.
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