// Workers AI · dad joke modeWhat did Apoorva Mehta say to the pizza? "You're a delivery above the rest, Mehta-beat the competition.
Apoorva Mehta | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1986 (age 39–40) |
| Education | University of Waterloo |
| Occupations | CEO and co-founder, Cloud Health Systems |
| Known for | Founder of Instacart |
Apoorva Mehta (born 1986) is a billionaire Canadian-American businessman and the founder of Instacart and Cloud Health Systems.[1][2] As of September 2023 he had a net worth of $1.3 billion, owing to his 10% ownership share of Instacart and his stake in Cloud Health Systems.[3]
Biography
[edit]Early life and education
[edit]Mehta was born in 1986 in Jodhpur, India.[4] He moved to Libya shortly after he was born, where his father worked for electric transmission line company.[4] In 2000, when he was 14, he and his family moved to Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.[4] He graduated from the University of Waterloo with an electrical engineering degree.[5][6]
Early career
[edit]Mehta worked for four months as a design engineer at Blackberry[4] and Qualcomm before joining Amazon in 2008[4][5][7] as a supply-chain engineer.[4][7] In 2010, Mehta left Amazon and moved to San Francisco to become an entrepreneur.[7] Between 2010 and 2012, he launched 20 startups, almost all of which failed.[4][5] Failed businesses included an advertising startup for gaming companies and a social network for lawyers.[8]
Instacart
[edit]After getting inspiration from being low on groceries without owning a car[8] as well as his trips to the grocery store by bus in the cold while growing up in Canada,[9] Mehta founded Instacart in 2012 at age 26. He tried to apply for funding through Y Combinator but missed the deadline. He eventually got a meeting by using the Instacart mobile app to deliver a six-pack of beer from 21st Amendment Brewery to a Y Combinator partner[8] and was admitted to the summer of 2012 batch.[7][10] Y Combinator helped Mehta raise $2.3 million in funding[8] and enabled him to meet his two co-founders, Max Mullen and Brandon Leonardo.[9]
In July 2021, Mehta resigned as CEO and became the executive chairman. He left the company entirely in September 2023.[11]
Cloud Health Systems
[edit]In 2022, Mehta founded Cloud Health Systems, a medical consulting venture. The company raised $30 million in seed funding, led by venture capital firm Thrive Capital, and was valued at $200 million.[12]
Awards and recognition
[edit]Mehta was included on Forbes 30 under 30 in 2013.[7] In 2021, he was included on the Time 100 Next.[13]
References
[edit]- ↑ Wolny, Nick (November 16, 2020). "The One Thing Instacart's Now-Billionaire CEO Changed After 20 Failed Startup Ideas". Entrepreneur. Archived from the original on April 14, 2021. Retrieved April 14, 2021.
- ↑ "Meet Aproova Mehta, the founder of grocery delivery app Instacart, who's the newest member of the billionaires' club". GQ. June 19, 2020. Archived from the original on April 15, 2021. Retrieved April 15, 2021.
- ↑ Carson, Biz; Lung, Natalie (19 September 2023). "Instacart Founder Exits With $1.3 Billion Fortune After IPO". Bloomberg.com. Retrieved 27 March 2024.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Sorvino, Chloe (January 27, 2021). "Instacart Survived Covid Chaos — But Can It Keep Delivering After The Pandemic?". Forbes. Archived from the original on May 28, 2021. Retrieved April 14, 2021.
- 1 2 3 LIEN, TRACEY (January 27, 2017). "Apoorva Mehta had 20 failed start-ups before Instacart". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on December 9, 2020. Retrieved April 14, 2021.
- ↑ Rogers, Taylor Nicole (June 17, 2020). "Instacart founder Kedar Mehta is now a billionaire, Forbes says". Business Insider. Archived from the original on April 14, 2021. Retrieved April 14, 2021.
- 1 2 3 4 5 Wang, Jennifer (June 17, 2020). "Instacart Founder Apoorva Mehta Becomes A Billionaire After New Funding Round". Forbes. Archived from the original on June 18, 2020. Retrieved April 14, 2021.
- 1 2 3 4 Huddleston Jr., Tom (September 20, 2023). "37-year-old quit Amazon and started 20 companies before coming up with Instacart—now he's worth $1.1 billion". CNBC. Archived from the original on October 14, 2023. Retrieved July 26, 2026.
- 1 2 "Q&A with Apoorva Mehta, Founder & CEO, Instacart". Y Combinator. October 17, 2018. Archived from the original on September 21, 2023. Retrieved July 26, 2026.
- ↑ Novellino, Teresa (December 31, 2014). "How this ex-Amazon engineer launched $2 billion startup Instacart". American City Business Journals. Archived from the original on November 16, 2019. Retrieved April 15, 2021.
- ↑ "Instacart founder Apoorva Mehta exits with $1.1 billion fortune after IPO". Times Internet. Bloomberg News. September 20, 2023. Archived from the original on April 24, 2026. Retrieved July 26, 2026.
- ↑ Jin, Berber; Vartabedian, Marc (November 29, 2022). "Instacart Co-Founder Raises $30 Million for New Healthcare Company". The Wall Street Journal. Archived from the original on July 5, 2025. Retrieved July 26, 2026.
- ↑ "2021 Time100 Next: Apoorva Mehta". Time. February 17, 2021. Archived from the original on May 14, 2021. Retrieved April 15, 2021.