CART

Maplebear Inc.

A grocery technology company best known as Instacart, it runs an online marketplace that delivers and picks up groceries from thousands of retail banners across North America, using hundreds of thousands of shoppers. It also sells software to retailers (the Instacart Enterprise platform) and first-party data-driven advertising to brands. Founder Apoorva Mehta started it in 2012 after his own empty fridge frustrated him, naming the service "Instacart" for an instant cart; he reportedly won a Y Combinator meeting by delivering beer through the app. Its smart Caper Carts and Carrot-branded shelf tags help digitize the in-store shopping experience.