Wonder, a food delivery and restaurant platform founded by Marc Lore in 2018, announced it has confidentially filed for an initial public offering, according to a statement released Thursday.
The company positions itself as an aggregator of restaurant dining experiences, offering delivery and takeout services through its app. Wonder has expanded to approximately 170 physical locations throughout the United States, each serving menu items from multiple branded restaurant concepts spanning various cuisines, including offerings from celebrity chefs. The company originally emerged from a concept involving mobile kitchens housed in sprinter vans but has since evolved into a network of brick-and-mortar establishments.
Wonder plans to launch a new offering called Wonder Create starting later this month. The initiative will allow influencers, entrepreneurs, and brands to establish their own restaurant operations based within Wonder locations by paying a monthly fee of $10, with participating businesses receiving a portion of revenue generated from customer orders.
The company has pursued an aggressive acquisition strategy, spending at least $1 billion on deals including delivery service Grubhub, meal kit brand Blue Apron, and delivery and logistics provider Relay, along with various restaurant concepts. Wonder’s ability to fund such acquisitions has been supported by more than $3 billion raised from venture investors. Its most recent Series D fundraising round earlier this year valued the company at $9 billion on a pre-money basis.
Lore indicated that IPO proceeds would support additional acquisitions and efforts to improve food accessibility, according to comments made in September. However, as a public company, Wonder will likely encounter investor scrutiny amid challenging conditions for the restaurant industry, including weak consumer spending patterns and broader market volatility affecting IPO activity across multiple sectors. Lore previously founded Diapers.com and Jet.com, which were acquired by Amazon and Walmart respectively.
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