Food delivery service DoorDash stepped into the coveted “unicorn” club with its latest $535 million funding round, which values it at $1.4 billion.
And CEO Tony Xu wants to make sure the company is “scaling quality as we scale quantity,” Xu told Cheddar.
“We’re going to be growing to every zip code in every city in North America. As a result, we have to make sure that we keep focusing on the basics.”
DoorDash operates in an increasingly competitive space with brands like Seamless, GrubHub, and UberEats all vying for domination.
To stay ahead, Xu says his company focuses on maintaining a variety of merchants.
“It starts with offering the broadest selection and offering at the highest quality [with] a consistent level of service.”
He pointed out that DoorDash serves 90 percent of the top 100 restaurant brands that offer delivery. “That’s more than all our peers combined.”
Going forward, Xu sees DoorDash automating parts of its delivery logistics.
“We’ve been working with autonomous delivery systems for about three years now,” said Xu. “It’s really a very difficult problem because you’re talking about solving the first- and last-10-feet problem. So this is going to take some time before it truly develops.”
Xu also envisions using DoorDash’s technology to get industries beyond restaurants online. “When you can deliver a burrito hot and deliver ice cream that does not melt, you can deliver just about anything.”
But Xu didn’t go into any details of the industries that DoorDash is eyeing next.
For the full interview, [click here](https://cheddar.com/videos/doordash-raises-535-million-in-series-d-funding).
If you have a flexible spending account, here's some short information for you so you don't leave money on the table.
With high healthcare costs, bills can quickly add up. In some cases, it is possible to negotiate your medical bills. Barak Richman, law professor at George Washington University, joined Cheddar News to discuss the easiest way to talk to medical debt companies about what's owed.
Millions of people have selected insurance plans for 2024 but sometimes navigating them can be tricky time consuming and expensive. Paula Pant, host of 'Afford Anything' podcast, joined Cheddar News to break down what's needed to know about their insurance plans.
The European Union is investigating Elon Musk's X over alleged illicit content and disinformation on its platform. Cheddar News breaks it all down and discusses what it could mean for users.
Adobe and Figma called off their $20 million merger, Southwest Airlines gets fined, Nippon Steel is buying U.S. Steel and oil and gas prices surge after a pause in shipments.
With more employees being called back to the office, many workers are suddenly protesting by being in the office for as little time as possible. As the term suggests, coffee-badging means coming in for just enough time to have a cup of coffee, show your face, and swipe your badge.
Japan's Nippon steel is buying U.S. Steel for $14.9 billion.
Southwest Airlines will pay a $35 million fine as part of a settlement over a 2022 holiday season disaster that saw the airline cancel thousands of flights and leave millions of people stranded.
Cheddar News' Need2Know is brought to you by Securitize, which helps unlock broader access to alternative investments in private businesses, funds, and other alternative assets. The private credit boom is here and the Hamilton Lane Senior Credit Opportunities Fund has tripled in assets under management in just six months from November 2022 through April this year. Visit Securitize.io to learn more.
Stocks opened slightly higher after Monday's opening bell after several weeks of gains as the year closes out.
