GrubHub, a Chicago-based startup that connects people with nearby food delivery options, said Wednesday that it has raised $20 million in its fourth round of funding.
GrubHub, launched in 2006 as the brainchild of local software engineers Matt Maloney and Mike Evans, raised $11 million in November from Menlo Park, Calif.-based Benchmark Capital. Maloney told the Tribune he wasn’t looking for more funding after that round, but “the calls came pouring in from top-tier venture firms all across the country” that were interested in the company.
“We’re in the envious position to choose which firm we wanted to work with,” Maloney said, adding that GrubHub plans to “bank most of this (new) round for (research and development) and potential acquisitions.”
The new infusion brings GrubHub’s total funding to $34 million. The main investor in the latest round is DAG Ventures, a Palo Alto, Calif-.based venture capital firm. Benchmark, which has backed companies such as restaurant reservation service OpenTable and review Web site Yelp, also participated.
“Our investment can be put to immediate use to fuel growth and reinforce market dominance,” John Cadeddu, managing director at DAG Ventures, said in a statement.
On the GrubHub site, users enter their address and can view nearby restaurants that deliver to them. The platform also offers menus, coupons, reviews and the ability to order food online. Restaurants pay commissions to GrubHub for orders processed through the site, and eateries that don’t offer online ordering can still list their contact information and menus for free.
The company also has apps for the iPhone and Android devices, and the mobile space has proved to be a major area of growth. GrubHub said it expects mobile orders to represent 20 percent of its total food sales by the end of the year, up from less than 2 percent in 2009. GrubHub is expanding its mobile service to more than 26 cities by year-end from its current 13 markets.
Looking at “where I am going to dedicate resources for product development, it’s absolutely going to be on mobile first,” Maloney said, noting that mobile platforms allow for a variety of features not available on a desktop, such as geolocation and integration with text messaging.
According to GrubHub, it has more than 13,000 restaurant menus on its site and will list more than 80,000 restaurants in the next three months. It expects to send $200 million orders this year, up from $85 million in 2010.
The company expects to be making enough money to go public in about two years but won’t make a decision on an initial public offering until then, Maloney said.
In the meantime, Maloney said GrubHub is “hiring like crazy” and plans to double its workforce this year from its current headcount of about 100, most in Chicago. The start-up is hiring mostly in technology and customer service positions.
GrubHub, launched in 2006 as the brainchild of local software engineers Matt Maloney and Mike Evans, raised $11 million in November from Menlo Park, Calif.-based Benchmark Capital. Maloney told the Tribune he wasn’t looking for more funding after that round, but “the calls came pouring in from top-tier venture firms all across the country” that were interested in the company.
“We’re in the envious position to choose which firm we wanted to work with,” Maloney said, adding that GrubHub plans to “bank most of this (new) round for (research and development) and potential acquisitions.”
The new infusion brings GrubHub’s total funding to $34 million. The main investor in the latest round is DAG Ventures, a Palo Alto, Calif-.based venture capital firm. Benchmark, which has backed companies such as restaurant reservation service OpenTable and review Web site Yelp, also participated.
“Our investment can be put to immediate use to fuel growth and reinforce market dominance,” John Cadeddu, managing director at DAG Ventures, said in a statement.
On the GrubHub site, users enter their address and can view nearby restaurants that deliver to them. The platform also offers menus, coupons, reviews and the ability to order food online. Restaurants pay commissions to GrubHub for orders processed through the site, and eateries that don’t offer online ordering can still list their contact information and menus for free.
The company also has apps for the iPhone and Android devices, and the mobile space has proved to be a major area of growth. GrubHub said it expects mobile orders to represent 20 percent of its total food sales by the end of the year, up from less than 2 percent in 2009. GrubHub is expanding its mobile service to more than 26 cities by year-end from its current 13 markets.
Looking at “where I am going to dedicate resources for product development, it’s absolutely going to be on mobile first,” Maloney said, noting that mobile platforms allow for a variety of features not available on a desktop, such as geolocation and integration with text messaging.
According to GrubHub, it has more than 13,000 restaurant menus on its site and will list more than 80,000 restaurants in the next three months. It expects to send $200 million orders this year, up from $85 million in 2010.
The company expects to be making enough money to go public in about two years but won’t make a decision on an initial public offering until then, Maloney said.
In the meantime, Maloney said GrubHub is “hiring like crazy” and plans to double its workforce this year from its current headcount of about 100, most in Chicago. The start-up is hiring mostly in technology and customer service positions.
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