Turkish delivery firm Getir raises $555 mln, sets sights on the U.S. market

Turkish rapid delivery company Getir has tripled its valuation from March to $7.56 billion after raising $555 million in the latest funding round, it said on Friday, adding that it would expand operations to the United States.

The company had raised $428 million in two funding rounds in January and March for international expansion including in Germany, France and the Netherlands.

The latest series of investments means the company raised almost $1 billion so far this year.

"Our model and approach to ultrafast delivery is thriving and this latest round of funding further enables us to deliver our best-in-class service to new customers in Europe, the United States and beyond," founder and Chief Executive Nazim Salur said in a statement.

The company said it was preparing to begin operations in the United States in the last quarter of the year. It will launch in Berlin and Paris this month.

Silver Lake, DisruptAD and Mubadala Investment Company became partners in the company in the latest funding round.

Istanbul-based Getir, established in 2015, says that through its app it can deliver thousands of grocery items "within minutes", including eggs, ice cream, nappies and cat food. It launched in London in January and Amsterdam in May.

Investors in previous rounds were Sequoia Capital, Tiger Global and Brazil's Base Partners as well as Fiba and Esas Holding from Turkey.

The company operates around 500 warehouses in Turkey, with fast grocery deliveries in 30 cities. It branched out to food delivery and launched grocery deliveries with a greater selection in its home market.