DoorDash Confidentially Submits IPO Paperwork

Silicon Valley-based delivery unicorn DoorDash has filed paperwork for an initial public offering (IPO) with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the company announced on Thursday (Feb. 27).

The company said it had filed “confidentially,” meaning its financials are not yet available to the public. Confidential filings also allow unprofitable startups in initial “growth” mode to investigate the early stages of a public listing without the public scrutiny, according to a report.

DoorDash could go public as early as the spring, but the IPO price range and the number of shares being offered are still yet to be determined.

Although the markets are currently “inhospitable” for new listings, DoorDash and its underwriters at Goldman Sachs are counting on the volatility being over by the time the IPO is approved.

DoorDash’s draft submission follows the company’s valuation of $13 billion at the end of 2019. The startup raised about $2 billion from investors, including SoftBank and venture capital firm Sequoia Capital. Its most recent funding was $100 million in November, led by new investor T. Rowe Price Group.

The filing also happens as the New York City Council announced six bills that propose limiting the commission that food delivery services like DoorDash can charge food establishments, according to CNBC.

The company broke out as the leader in digital food delivery in 2019, moving ahead of Grubhub, Uber Eats and Postmates. It was responsible for one-third of food delivery sales in the U.S., according to data from analytics firm Second Measure.

DoorDash was founded in 2013 by Stanford University students Andy Fang, Stanley Tang, Tony Xu and Evan Moore.

In January, DoorDash surpassed Grubhub as the No. 1 food delivery service in the U.S. DoorDash sales grew 143 percent year over year, which changed the delivery landscape significantly from 2018, when Grubhub held onto 43 percent of the market. The digital food industry continues to grow; it is estimated that it will become a $467 billion business in five years, which would be a 31 percent increase over current numbers.