Amazon Buys Into Deliveroo

Last week it was announced that Amazon would be leading a $575 million investment in Deliveroo. I have actually been following this company closely for a while now because I met a couple on honeymoon who had gone to Wharton Business School with the founder of Deliveroo. They even got offered the opportunity to invest in it right at the start, which they turned down. Ouch! Having said that they also turned down 6 other startups from their classmates which all failed.

If you have not hear of Deliveroo it is a London based food delivery service. It is based mostly in highly congested cities where bikes are the most common form of transport for the deliverers. The founder, Will Shu, was working 15 hour days as an investment banker in London and could not access good food via delivery to his office. So he started Deliveroo.



This is significant for two reasons. Firstly, it is good to see Amazon spreading its wings even further. Essentially they are a delivery business. Secondly, this is significant for Naspers who have been pumping billions into food delivery businesses. The "overpaid" Naspers management team have picked a sector that Amazon now fully endorse with their wallet.