Instacart seeks valuation of $8.6 billion to $9.3 billion in IPO: reports

• According to reports from The Wall Street Journal and Reuters, Instacart is seeking an IPO valued at between $8.6 billion and $9.3 billion.
• The early numbers reflect a significant departure from Instacart’s past value.
• The company’s shares are expected to trade on the Nasdaq under the ticker symbol “CART,” with Goldman Sachs leading the offering.
• Instacart is expected to formally announce its expected valuation range on Monday.

InstaCart employees fulfill orders for delivery

Patrick T. Fallon | Bloomberg | Getty Images

Grocery delivery service Instacart is reportedly seeking an IPO with a valuation between $8.6 billion and $9.3 billion.

Instacart is expected to formally announce its expected valuation range on Monday, a person familiar with the matter told Reuters. The Wall Street Journal was first to report the valuation target on Sunday.

Instacart’s valuation could still change as the company looks to market its IPO to investors, the WSJ report said, but the early numbers reflect a notable departure from the company’s past value. When public shares fell around March of last year, Instacart cut its valuation from $39 billion to $24 billion. The valuation reportedly fell another 50% by the end of 2022.

But despite its reduced valuation range, Instacart is taking a significant step toward revitalizing a sleepy IPO market that has been largely shuttered since late 2021. There have been no significant venture capital-backed technology IPOs since December of this year.

Similarly, chip designer Arm, owned by Japan’s SoftBank, filed its IPO documents in August.

Instacart’s business boomed during the Covid-19 pandemic as consumers sought to avoid crowded public places. But as shoppers returned to stores, profitability proved a persistent challenge. According to the company’s website, Instacart shoppers and drivers deliver goods in more than 5,500 cities from more than 40,000 grocers and other stores.

The food delivery service will join other gig economy companies such as Uber, Airbnb, Lyft and DoorDash in the public market. The company’s shares are expected to trade on the Nasdaq under the ticker symbol “CART,” with Goldman Sachs leading the offering.

—CNBC’s Hayden Field contributed to this report.