Marc Lore is ready to ring the bell. The serial entrepreneur—who previously sold Jet.com to Walmart for $3.3 billion—told Fortune exclusively that his food delivery and service company Wonder will be “ready and prepared to go public early next year.” And the company has news to back it up.
Wonder, Lore’s food‑tech platform, raised a more than $650 million Series D at a $9 billion valuation, the company told Fortune exclusively. Returning investors Accel, GV, and NEA participated. New entrants include AllianceBernstein, Cathie Wood’s ARK Invest, and Kayne Anderson. Goldman Sachs, Jefferies, and J.P. Morgan served as placement agents. The round brings Wonder’s total raised to approximately $3 billion since its founding in 2018.
Wonder operates 135 food halls across 10 East Coast states. Each location runs up to 30 restaurant concepts—including licensed names like Bobby Flay Steak and Tejas Barbeque—out of a single kitchen. Customers order through Wonder’s app, combining dishes from multiple concepts in one transaction, with Wonder handling cooking and last‑mile delivery itself. The company also owns Grubhub, acquired for $650 million early last year (including $500 million in assumed debt), and Blue Apron, bought in 2023 for $103 million.
Lore reframes Wonder’s ambitions beyond the coasts. “Our mission is to make great food more accessible,” he told Fortune. “That’s really where we excel—in places where the food’s not currently available, at price points that are currently not possible.”
Wonder’s current footprint is still firmly Northeastern. The latest financing will fund continued expansion—Wonder plans to enter Texas next year—alongside investments in robotics and AI. Last November, Wonder paid $186.4 million to buy Sweetgreen’s Spyce division and its Infinite Kitchen, which the company bills as the only fully automated bowl‑making system in commercial production. This week, it also closed on Mighty Quinn’s BBQ, its second full restaurant acquisition after Blue Ribbon Fried Chicken earlier this year.
But Wonder’s finances appear to have their own hurdles. According to investor materials reviewed by The Information, Wonder projects burning nearly $2.7 billion in cash through 2029 and is expected to lose roughly $618 million on an adjusted EBITDA basis this year alone, before reaching positive cash flow in 2030.
Lore pushed back on this framing: “The economics are often misunderstood,” he argued. “You do need to make substantial investment up front—the robotics, the ingredient library. All those suppress profitability in the short-term. But there’s a big prize at the end of the day.” He said same‑service‑area sales are growing roughly 20% year over year and that the cost of goods sold is tracking better than planned.
The round also carries an IPO ratchet, giving investors extra shares if Wonder’s public debut prices below 1.5 times the current round’s share price—a provision The Information first reported, which also noted the round fell short of Wonder’s initial $11 billion target. Lore acknowledged the provision: “This is the least amount of protection we’ve ever offered, on a relative basis,” he said.
Consumer trust also remains an open question. Reddit posters in New York, Philadelphia, and Washington, D.C. have accused the company of misleading branding—arguing Wonder is effectively a ghost kitchen (one facility churning out dozens of virtual “restaurants” behind a single storefront)—inflating reviews and misrepresenting “gluten free” menu items.
Lore disputes the characterizations—and has a personal stake in the allergen debate. “I have celiac,” he said. Lore also pushed back hard on the ghost kitchen label. “We don’t have microwaves. We don’t reheat. We actually cook to order—and that’s something people should know.”
Lore confirmed he personally invested in the round, though declined to confirm the $200 million figure reported by The Information. But he has invested in every Wonder round to date.
The bigger pitch for Wonder is further out. Lore is developing MEL, an AI platform that tracks blood biomarkers and body composition, then autonomously plans and orders every meal. He’s been using it himself. “AI knows me better than myself,” he said. “Never would have said that’s what I’d pick to eat—but I love it.” The vision is a single platform covering restaurant delivery, meal kits via Blue Apron, and soon oven‑ready meals at grocery‑store prices—all managed by an AI that, as he put it, becomes “a better version of yourself.”
The IPO, when it comes, will test Wall Street’s appetite.
This story was originally featured on Fortune.com
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