DoorDash Agrees to Buy Instacart for $17 Billion and Keep Its App

Instacart shareholders would get $65 a share, and the deal isn't expected to close until late 2027 or the first half of 2028.

The app you open for takeout is buying the app you open for groceries. DoorDash said Thursday it will acquire Instacart for about $17 billion, TechCrunch reported, bringing restaurant delivery and grocery delivery under one roof.

Instacart shareholders would get $65 a share, according to DoorDash's earnings release filed with the SEC. At least 75% of that comes in cash and the rest can come in DoorDash stock. The price is 26% above Instacart's Oct. 22 close, the last trading day before reports of a possible deal, and Instacart's board approved it unanimously.

It's not yet clear what changes on your phone right away. The two stay separate companies until the deal closes, and DoorDash plans to keep the Instacart name, its app and the software it sells to grocers, TechCrunch reported. The companies also said DashPass and Instacart+ members will now pay one membership fee instead of two, and that Instacart customers can now shop at more than 50,000 stores on top of the just under 100,000 on the platform today, according to NBC News, though neither TechCrunch nor DoorDash's filing says these changes start before the deal closes.

DoorDash CEO Tony Xu made the pitch with produce. "Someone has to pick a ripe avocado, find a substitute you'd choose yourself, and get the ice cream to you before it melts," he said in the companies' announcement, TechCrunch reported. DoorDash's filing is blunter about where things stand, saying the product isn't there yet and that customers pay extra for delivery that still falls short.

The people picking those avocados are the other half of the bet. DoorDash says combining the two networks would make delivery faster, cut fulfillment costs and give Instacart's shoppers more chances to earn, starting the day the deal closes. It's projecting a path over several years to at least $500 million a year in synergies, net of investment, and says it'll spend more than all of it in the first year after closing. The filing doesn't put a number on what that means for shoppers' pay or for delivery fees.

The deal still has a gauntlet ahead. According to DoorDash's filing, it needs a vote by Instacart shareholders, and holders of about 19% of the shares have already agreed to vote yes. It also has to clear the federal antitrust waiting period and get approvals in Canada and Israel. Instacart had another suitor: Bloomberg earlier reported talks with Uber, which walked away, TechCrunch noted. The talks with DoorDash were first reported by The Information and The Wall Street Journal, NBC News said.

Announced Thursday. DoorDash expects it to close at the end of 2027 or in the first half of 2028. Until then, your burrito and your groceries still come from two different companies.

Source: TechCrunch, retrieved October 29, 2026. Other sources: the SEC, NBC News.