The World's Richest Robot? Waymo's $5.6B Series C
Instacart + Party City, DoorDash + NBA, pay by bank
To misquote Michael Bluth, “there’s always money in the self-driving banana stand.” Waymo seems to have made that discovery, as it hauls in a cool $5.6 billion bucks. Meanwhile, Instacart and DoorDash have timely new partnerships, and we’ve got data on a good way to improve payment margins.
This week’s edition is brought to you by GetScale.
Today:
Waymo Raises Massive Series C
Instacart Celebrates Party City Partnership
Chart Time | The Promise of Bank Payments
DoorDash Scores NBA, WNBA Partnership
AUTONOMY | Waymo Hauls in $5.6 Billion in New Funding
There’s definitely money to be had in automation; Alphabet’s big autonomy bet, Waymo, just proved the case with a massive $5.6 billion Series C funding round. This investment comes from a who’s who of Silicon Valley luminaries — Andreesen Horowitz, Fidelity, Perry Creek, Silver Lake, T. Rowe Price, Tiger Global — and comes on top of Google parent co. Alphabet committing another $5B back in July. Currently, Waymo completes about 100,000 paid riders per week.
The Big Picture: Waymo last raised from external funders in its $2.225 billion, 2020 Series B. Back then, Waymo was more gung ho about autonomous trucking, an effort it pumped the brakes on last year. But besides ferrying passengers, Waymo is plowing ahead with its delivery ambitions: it kicked off a big partnership with Uber Eats in Phoenix this past April. Waymo isn’t the only AV player making headlines: WeRide just hauled in nearly half a billion bucks from its IPO, while Zeekr revealed more of its forthcoming self-driving hardware.
PARTNER | Why Gig Workers Apply but Never Hit ‘Go’ (And How to Fix It)
Every month, millions of Americans apply for gig roles — but most never start. Why?
Through 450,000+ one-on-one conversations with individuals who responded to GetScale ads for flexible work, we discovered that lack of motivation and uncertainty about how to succeed are the main reasons why interested and qualified applicants don’t take the next step.
The solution? Personalized conversations that address the ‘why’ and ‘how’ to educate and motivate applicants to get started. Leading teams are increasing conversions from applicants to active workers by over 20% and cutting acquisition costs.
Incorporate one-on-one conversations into your gig recruitment strategy.
3PD | Instacart Scares Up Party City Partnership
Just in time for Halloween, Instacart announced a new partnership with costume and party supply juggernaut Party City. Instacart now boasts over 1,500 retailers; this Party City partnership serves over 700 of the New Jersey-based chain’s ~800 storefronts. To celebrate the launch, the two brands are providing $10 off initial Party City purchases of $50 or more through December 26.
The Big Picture: Party City has been on a big e-commerce push as it rocovers from its Jan. 2023 Chapter 11 bankruptcy. It kicked off a partnership with DoorDash later that year, followed by another with Uber Eats; the retailer also offers same-day delivery from its own website. Led by new CEO Barry Litwin, Party City is also updating select stores to to include “birthday worlds” and broader balloon-related services. We’re a bit surprised that Instacart and Party City waited until three days before Halloween, once many folks have already purchased costumes, to kick off the partnership, as the holiday accounts for over 20% of the costumer’s sales.
CHART TIME | Bank Payments Offer Margin-Improving Opportunity
Credit card processing fees take a mean bite out of any delivery or rideshare transaction; the platforms have a chance to claw back some of that cash by switching to pay-by-bank. New data from PYMNTS shows that over 1/3 of current TNC and delivery users would switch payment systems, especially if offered a slight discount for doing so. Online grocery shoppers were showed interest in switching, albeit at slightly lower levels.
MARKETING | DoorDash Re-Signs Partnership Deal with NBA, WNBA
Evidently its first go if it was a real slam dunk, as DoorDash is extending its contract with the NBA and WNBA, building off a 2020 partnership with the pro basketball leagues. DD is using the deal to make a big push for DashPass, it’s membership program, which will now serve as the official partner of NBA and WNBA Experiences. DashPass members will have exclusive access to fast pass lanes, lounges, meet-and-greets, and more. And when an NBA player scores 50 points or more in a game, DashPass members will get an extra $5 off a food order the following day. (Given that there are only about 25 games per year where that happens, we’re not so sure how valuable a perk that last one is…)
The Big Picture: Seems like it’s pro-sports partnership season, as Wingstop also just signed a deal to the “official chicken sponsor” of the NBA. The poultry provider is of course available on DoorDash (does that make this deal a triple threat?) although the digital-savvy chain got promiscuous with the other 3PDs about two years ago.
A Few Good Links
7-Eleven opening 500 food-focused stores. MrBeast and VDC’s war of the words revealed. DoorDash adds new alcohol delivery safeguards. Denny’s boosts digital guest experience. UPS exec jumps to Transdev. Amazon says West Coast capacity is constrained. Zomato adds order scheduling, which we guess is a new product feature when your whole thing has been about instant gratification? Gopuff and influencer Alix Earle launch branded chocolate bar. Toast named 2024 Inc Power Partner. Yelp’s Top 100 Vegan Restaurants once again reveals SoCal’s food supremacy. Wonder adds Chief People Officer as it aims to get IPO- ready.
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