Webvan
Grocery DeliveryUSAClosed 2001
Total Raised
$800M
Peak Valuation
$1.20B
Employees
3,500
Year Collapsed
2001
Business model
Online grocery delivery via company-built automated warehouses.
In brief
Built out expensive automated warehouses across many cities before demand justified the infrastructure. The cost of scaling logistics outpaced revenue, and it collapsed alongside the dot-com downturn.
See the What Happened tab for the full account.
Key facts
- Founded
- 1996
- Closed
- 2001
- Headquarters
- Foster City, USA
- Industry
- Grocery Delivery
- Employees
- 3,500
- Revenue
- $178M
- Founders
- Louis Borders
Related failures
Gorillas
2020–2022Grocery Delivery · Germany
Overexpansion$1.30BReef Technology (Kitchens division)
2013–2023Food Tech / Real Estate · USA
Overexpansion$1.50BPlenty
2014–2024AgTech · USA
Overexpansion$940MJawbone
1999–2017Consumer Hardware · USA
Overexpansion$930MOlive AI
2012–2023Health Tech · USA
Overexpansion$852MBowery Farming
2015–2024AgTech · USA
Overexpansion$700M
Often compared with: Instacart, Amazon Fresh, Ocado.