DoorDash in Advanced Talks to Acquire Instacart for $17 Billion

DoorDash is in advanced talks to acquire Instacart for about $17 billion, according to reports published on Monday, October 26, 2026. No agreement has been signed, neither company has confirmed the talks, and a deal is not guaranteed. Uber also held talks with Instacart but walked away, based on accounts from people familiar with the matter.

Instacart shares rose 7.87% to $60.88 on October 26 after reaching a 52-week high of $62.00, then added 0.61% to $61.25 after hours. The stock had climbed about 18% since the close on Thursday, October 22, following a 9.21% jump to $56.44 on Friday, October 23, when the sale talks first surfaced. DoorDash fell 6.1% to $168.44, and Uber slipped 0.85% to $66.13.

“I had never seen so many Kit-Kats in my entire life.”

The $17 billion figure is approximate, and the price per share, cash-stock mix, financing, and any breakup fee have not been disclosed. Citi analyst Ronald Josey estimated a $16 billion to $17 billion valuation means about $65 per Instacart share at the midpoint, which is 7% above the October 26 close. Josey kept a Buy rating, but his own $58 price target sits below the current share price.

Before the reports, Instacart was valued at around $13 billion and DoorDash at about $73 billion. Instacart’s 2025 revenue rose 11% to $3.74 billion, while DoorDash’s rose 28% to $13.72 billion. DoorDash would gain grocery retailer relationships, an advertising business, grocer software, and the leading online grocery platform, but would also take on slower growth.

Instacart founder and former CEO Apoorva Mehta is a billionaire again after his stake rose back above the $1 billion mark. Mehta holds a 7% stake, or about 17 million shares, according to the last proxy filed in April 2026. If DoorDash pays over $71 per share, he would be about another $250 million richer before taxes between stock and options.

Mehta ran Instacart for over a decade and took it public in 2023. He resigned as board chairman at the time of the IPO but held onto a chunk of shares. Since leaving Instacart, he cofounded a Tennessee-based healthcare startup called Bridge and founded a hedge fund called Abundance, which has reportedly raised $100 million.