Instacart Announces New Toronto Tech Hub
The grocery delivery game is big business.
One of the leading providers of delivery groceries has unveiled plans to expand their Canadian presence, Instacart will open a new tech hub in Toronto, dubbed “Instacart North,” with plans to hire over 200 new employees in engineering, product, design and research and development.
Instacart has expanded rapidly throughout Canada over the past year and their services are now accessible to half of the country’s population. The new office will open its doors in 2019 and add to the company’s 600-plus employees spread across North America.
“As a Canadian and alumni of the University of Waterloo engineering school, I’m proud to see Canada, and Toronto in particular, grow to become one of the most influential tech hubs in North America,” said Apoorva Mehta, CEO of Instacart.
“When I was a student at Waterloo, the perception was that you had to leave Toronto and head to Silicon Valley to make an impact in tech. Today, that’s no longer the case, as Toronto has quickly become one of the hottest tech markets in the world. The innovation and talent coming out of Canada are world-class and Instacart is excited to invest in this growing community as we focus on unlocking more value for our customers and delivering them the groceries they want from the local brands they love.”
Instacart has been hard at work in Mehta’s home country, having acquired Unata, one of Canada’s fastest-growing companies, in early 2018. Just a month earlier, Instacart also announced a grocery-delivery partnership with Canada’s largest grocer, Loblaw. More recently, Instacart announced a similar partnership with Walmart Canada to offer same-day delivery.
Right now, Instacart has around 80 employees at their Toronto office, located at Wellington and Portland. This means the new expansion will more than triple the company;s current presence in the country.
