DoorDash to Buy Instacart for $17 Billion in Grocery Delivery Deal

DoorDash has agreed to buy grocery delivery company Instacart for about $17 billion, bringing two of the biggest names in US delivery under one roof. The companies announced the deal on October 29, 2026, after a week of media reports that talks were under way.

The deal terms

DoorDash will pay $65 for each Instacart share in a mix of cash and stock. The companies said that is a 26% premium to Instacart’s closing price on October 22, 2026, the last trading day before reports of a possible deal appeared. Instacart, which trades on Nasdaq under its corporate name Maplebear Inc., had a market value of about $15.1 billion that day, according to Chain Store Age.

Instacart’s board approved the agreement unanimously. The companies expect the deal to close at the end of 2027 or in the first half of 2028, after it is approved by Instacart shareholders and regulators. Until then, DoorDash and Instacart will keep operating as separate, independent companies.

What changes for customers and shoppers

DoorDash says it will keep the Instacart brand, app and enterprise technology products. According to the announcement, the combination is meant to give customers:

• Access to about 50,000 more stores for Instacart customers through DoorDash’s network
• A single membership covering DashPass and Instacart+
• Faster delivery options and a wider choice of stores

Instacart’s shoppers, who are independent contractors, will keep their current features and flexibility, and they will not be required to work for DoorDash. Grocers will be able to choose to work with Instacart, DoorDash or both.

What each side brings

Instacart, founded in 2012, specialises in grocery and convenience delivery in the US and Canada. Its roughly 600,000 shoppers completed 338 million orders last year, according to company filings cited by the Associated Press. It also sells technology to grocers, including software for their own websites, advertising tools and Caper smart carts.

DoorDash, founded in 2013, started with restaurant delivery and has since expanded into groceries, pet supplies and electronics. It operates in about 40 countries and completed more than 3 billion orders last year.

DoorDash chief executive Tony Xu said grocery is one of the hardest things to get right online, and that the combined company could give stores of every size more tools to grow. Instacart chief executive Chris Rogers said the deal would let Instacart do even more for retailers.

Why it matters

The deal is a major consolidation of US delivery. DoorDash has been gaining ground quickly: market research firm Consumer Edge estimates Instacart’s share of spending on US delivery platforms has fallen from 26% five years ago to 18%, while DoorDash’s share has grown sharply.

It also continues a buying streak. DoorDash bought UK-based Deliveroo in 2025 in a $3.9 billion deal, and it recently agreed to buy Wonder’s Grubhub Campus Dining business for $300 million.

The two companies have discussed a combination before. In 2021, when Instacart was a private company valued at $39 billion, talks reportedly valued it at $40 billion to $50 billion, far above today’s price.

Some questions remain open, including what happens to partnerships that differ between the companies. Instacart delivers for Walmart, for example, while DoorDash stopped providing Walmart delivery in 2022.

What happens next

The deal is likely to face close review by competition regulators, given the size of both companies in US delivery. Separately, both companies are watching new ways customers might order, but so far AI agents are a tiny channel: DoorDash said it has received only a few hundred orders from agents, and Uber reported similarly small numbers.