9 votes

Wonder announces acquisition of Grubhub

19 comments

  1. [5]
    EgoEimi
    Link
    I've never heard of Wonder before. It appears to be a small food delivery startup that serves only NYC. I'm very surprised. This comes off as if a local hardware store were announcing that it's...

    I've never heard of Wonder before. It appears to be a small food delivery startup that serves only NYC.

    I'm very surprised. This comes off as if a local hardware store were announcing that it's acquiring Lowes or Home Depot. Like, what. Where did they get all that cash?

    24 votes
    1. [2]
      TonesTones
      Link Parent
      The CEO of Wonder is Marc Lore, who is worth (I think) multiple billions of dollars. Since the acquisition was for less than a billion, this seems more comparable to Elon Musk’s purchase of...

      The CEO of Wonder is Marc Lore, who is worth (I think) multiple billions of dollars. Since the acquisition was for less than a billion, this seems more comparable to Elon Musk’s purchase of Twitter from a financial standpoint. (I don’t know much about Marc Lore or his goals, so I don’t want to make a non-financial metaphor between the two billionaires.)

      11 votes
      1. RussellSprouts
        Link Parent
        The article mentions that the $650mm purchase price is 500mm notes and 150mm cash, so I don't think it's coming from the CEO's personal wealth. On a quick scan I see that Wonder raised 700mm in...

        The article mentions that the $650mm purchase price is 500mm notes and 150mm cash, so I don't think it's coming from the CEO's personal wealth. On a quick scan I see that Wonder raised 700mm in SAFEs (no data on terms e.g. discount/valuation cap) in March 2024, and 100mm in November 2023 at 3.5B pre-money valuation. Seems like an incredibly high valuation for such an early stage company, but they do seem to have very aggressive growth plans.

        6 votes
    2. [2]
      OBLIVIATER
      (edited )
      Link Parent
      I did a triple take, I expected grubhub to be worth a lot more money than $650 million, but maybe I'm used to tech companies being overvalued as hell. I thought they meant Grubhub was acquiring...

      I did a triple take, I expected grubhub to be worth a lot more money than $650 million, but maybe I'm used to tech companies being overvalued as hell. I thought they meant Grubhub was acquiring Wonder. I feel like food delivery apps are on the downtrend after COVID, its just far too expensive to be ordering from them anymore. You're spending 40-50 bucks on 20 dollars worth of food that cost 5 dollars to make. (And its usually not even that tasty after its been sitting for 1~ hour.)

      5 votes
      1. blivet
        Link Parent
        The whole idea of having to tip generously beforehand just to convince someone to deliver your order seems completely backwards to me. I wouldn’t use a service like that unless I had to.

        The whole idea of having to tip generously beforehand just to convince someone to deliver your order seems completely backwards to me. I wouldn’t use a service like that unless I had to.

  2. [2]
    first-must-burn
    Link
    Sounds like wonder is basically the same as a "ghost kitchen". I wonder what that means for the restaurants that use grubhub? Are they going to get offers to buy out their recipes? Or see their...

    Sounds like wonder is basically the same as a "ghost kitchen". I wonder what that means for the restaurants that use grubhub?

    Are they going to get offers to buy out their recipes? Or see their deliveries undercut by vertically integrated kitchens? (Pure speculation on my part)

    Wonder also bought blue apron. I wonder if they use blue apron as a way to manage inventory (end up with too any cucumbers? Cucumber in all the BA recipes), although that seems logistically complex.

    5 votes
    1. updawg
      Link Parent
      These are companies who deliver meals to millions of people. Their entire business is logistics.

      although that seems logistically complex.

      These are companies who deliver meals to millions of people. Their entire business is logistics.

      6 votes
  3. Wafik
    Link
    This is just a noise post. "Your scientists were so preoccupied with whether or not they could, they didn't stop to think if they should."

    This is just a noise post.

    Multi-Restaurant Ordering, a first in the industry where customers can order from upwards of 30 restaurants in a single order

    "Your scientists were so preoccupied with whether or not they could, they didn't stop to think if they should."

    5 votes
  4. [9]
    DefinitelyNotAFae
    Link
    I don't do food delivery pretty much at all anymore (Even before the move to a small town) but Wonder being described as a food hall reminds me how much I'd genuinely like something like a (Good)...

    I don't do food delivery pretty much at all anymore (Even before the move to a small town) but Wonder being described as a food hall reminds me how much I'd genuinely like something like a (Good) university cafeteria but for workers. Food courts separate from the dying malls. Modern cafeterias. Automats with Japanese style vending machines?

    2 votes
    1. [2]
      stu2b50
      Link Parent
      Isn’t that just the hot bar at grocery stores

      Isn’t that just the hot bar at grocery stores

      2 votes
      1. DefinitelyNotAFae
        Link Parent
        It's similar for sure, and some stores have multiple venues and lots of options, others have some chicken and questionable potato salad. But grocery stores aren't usually around business plazas...

        It's similar for sure, and some stores have multiple venues and lots of options, others have some chicken and questionable potato salad. But grocery stores aren't usually around business plazas near me, they're usually in more outskirt areas, and the ones that are more centralized are some of the smaller ones. Bodegas and similar shops probably also function in a similar way for city folks with access to them. But I'm thinking something larger and more conducive to eating in than most grocery options (Hy-Vee or Wegmans might hit the same spot barring location)

        1 vote
    2. [4]
      redwall_hp
      Link Parent
      Boston has Quincy Market. A lot of office towers in larger cities have food courts too, with typical mall type stalls, if they're shared complexes. Some companies also have cafeterias for their...

      Boston has Quincy Market.

      A lot of office towers in larger cities have food courts too, with typical mall type stalls, if they're shared complexes. Some companies also have cafeterias for their employees. (Fairly common in the software industry, or for call centers.)

      2 votes
      1. phoenixrises
        Link Parent
        Boston has a couple actually, Time Out Market: https://www.timeoutmarket.com/boston/ High Street Place: https://www.highstreetplace.com/ Hub Hall: https://www.hubhallboston.com/ NYC also has a...

        Boston has a couple actually,

        Time Out Market: https://www.timeoutmarket.com/boston/
        High Street Place: https://www.highstreetplace.com/
        Hub Hall: https://www.hubhallboston.com/

        NYC also has a Time Out Market, iirc and Chelsea Market
        London has a couple that I really enjoyed too

        1 vote
      2. DefinitelyNotAFae
        Link Parent
        Seems to be a bit more than what I'm looking for - back around to Mall again? I went to one in New Orleans I think when I was at a conference there, and it was essentially a big food court with...

        Seems to be a bit more than what I'm looking for - back around to Mall again?

        I went to one in New Orleans I think when I was at a conference there, and it was essentially a big food court with lots of seating so you and your friends could eat at one place or any of them and still sit together, but it was separate from other shopping. The idea of a cafeteria appeals too.

        Anyway I know it's a tangent but I'm just thoughtful about it.

      3. DefinitelyNotAFae
        Link Parent
        Re: your additions, yeah I see that in major cities, and I'm definitely thinking about smaller locales. And I definitely don't work in tech or a call center so it's not something seen in my area

        Re: your additions, yeah I see that in major cities, and I'm definitely thinking about smaller locales. And I definitely don't work in tech or a call center so it's not something seen in my area

    3. [2]
      Z009
      Link Parent
      This concept is pretty popular in some larger Spanish cities. It's known as a mercado. There's different levels of fanciness, but you've described the gist of them. They are a great place to meet...

      This concept is pretty popular in some larger Spanish cities. It's known as a mercado. There's different levels of fanciness, but you've described the gist of them. They are a great place to meet up with friends—everyone can eat what they want.

      1 vote
      1. DefinitelyNotAFae
        Link Parent
        Yeah I'd definitely like low level casual, like I said cafeteria style would be fine too. Affordable and friendly.

        Yeah I'd definitely like low level casual, like I said cafeteria style would be fine too. Affordable and friendly.

  5. [2]
    CptBluebear
    Link
    That valuation seems low but it appears that would only be the US branch of Just Eat, which makes far more sense. I wonder if the USA is just generally too large for it to work as well as it does...

    That valuation seems low but it appears that would only be the US branch of Just Eat, which makes far more sense. I wonder if the USA is just generally too large for it to work as well as it does elsewhere.

    1. Slystuff
      Link Parent
      This also plays into what surprised me, in terms of the ownership chain, since tbh I never really looked into it beyond knowing it was the same overall group. That EU Just Eat is the parent...

      This also plays into what surprised me, in terms of the ownership chain, since tbh I never really looked into it beyond knowing it was the same overall group. That EU Just Eat is the parent company compared to US Grub Hub.
      I guess given the way most tech companies operate it feels like it's normally the other way around.