• Home
  • Latest
  • Fortune 500
  • Finance
  • Tech
  • Leadership
  • Lifestyle
  • Rankings
  • Multimedia

Trendingnow

1

Bolt CEO says he let go of his entire HR team for creating problems that didn’t exist: ‘Those problems disappeared when I let them go’ 

2

The Bezos family just donated $100 million to help achieve one of Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s top campaign promises

3

Current price of oil as of May 19, 2026

1

Bolt CEO says he let go of his entire HR team for creating problems that didn’t exist: ‘Those problems disappeared when I let them go’ 

2

The Bezos family just donated $100 million to help achieve one of Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s top campaign promises

3

Current price of oil as of May 19, 2026
TechGRUBHUB

GrubHub makes major move in restaurant delivery wars

By
Dan Primack
Dan Primack
Down Arrow Button Icon
By
Dan Primack
Dan Primack
Down Arrow Button Icon
February 5, 2015, 9:00 AM ET
GrubHub IPO
The GrubHub Inc. app is displayed on an Apple Inc. iPhone 5 in Tiskilwa, Illinois, U.S., on Wednesday, April 2, 2014. GrubHub Inc., the Internet platform that enables users to order pick-up and delivery from restaurants, raised the expected price range for its initial public offering to $23 to $25 per share from $20 to $22 in a regulatory filing on Tuesday. The company plans to list on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol GRUB. Photographer: Daniel Acker/Bloomberg via Getty ImagesPhotograph by Daniel Acker — Bloomberg via Getty Images

GrubHub (GRUB) is a $3 billion company known for helping to connect hungry users with restaurants that will deliver them food. Now GrubHub wants to deliver the meals itself, in a major preemptive move against on-demand delivery aspirants like Google (GOOG) and Amazon (AMZN) .

The Chicago-based company already had been testing its own service in three markets — San Francisco, Los Angeles and Chicago — but this morning announced that it has acquired DiningIn (based in Brighton, Mass.) and signed an agreement to acquire Restaurants on the Run (Aliso Viejo, Calif.). The two deals are worth approximately $80 million, and mean that GrubHub will be executing deliveries for nearly 3,000 restaurants in around one dozen U.S. metro markets.

The real key to all of this may be price.

GrubHub is a business that still values volume over premium pricing, and plans to eventually offer its own delivery service to restaurants at around the same 14% margin it currently charges for its backend infrastructure. Not only is this significantly lower than the 20-30% that many restaurants are charged by current delivery groups (including DiningIn and Restaurants on the Run), but GrubHub only plans to charge customers whatever nominal fee is needed to make the delivery break-even (or nothing at all, depending on if it can offset that difference with increased deliveries).

“There is economy of scale in the volume of deliveries,” explains Bill Gurley, a venture capitalist and GrubHub board member. “The more volume you have, the more economical you can be.”

The pricing also would be designed to put pressure on rivals like Square, which last year paid a reported $90 million to acquire on-demand restaurant delivery startup Caviar. Not to mention on Google and Amazon, which seem interested on entering every single type of on-demand delivery space.

In short, GrubHub wants to corner the restaurant delivery business. It already offers infrastructure products that live inside the restaurant (OrderHub) and for delivery drivers (DeliveryHub), and believes that using its own drivers will make the automation easier, and make the customer experience better.

“I have a very strong belief that these verticals are more complex than people realize,” Gurley says. “Remember when LivingSocial jumped into GrubHub’s business? You could point the same finger at Square. It looks easy from the outside, but you get inside and realize that you have to keep all of these menus up to date and handle compliance and customer service and all other sorts of detailed work. Yes, the bigger companies may make moves here, but I’d rather be in the leading spot — with a business built around large order flow — than anywhere else.”

Sign up for Term Sheet, out daily newsletter on deals and deal-makers.

About the Author
By Dan Primack
See full bioRight Arrow Button Icon

Latest in Tech

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025

Most Popular

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Fortune Secondary Logo
Rankings
  • 100 Best Companies
  • Fortune 500
  • Global 500
  • Fortune 500 Europe
  • Most Powerful Women
  • World's Most Admired Companies
  • See All Rankings
  • Lists Calendar
Sections
  • Finance
  • Fortune Crypto
  • Features
  • Leadership
  • Health
  • Commentary
  • Success
  • Retail
  • Mpw
  • Tech
  • Lifestyle
  • CEO Initiative
  • Asia
  • Politics
  • Conferences
  • Europe
  • Newsletters
  • Personal Finance
  • Environment
  • Magazine
  • Education
Customer Support
  • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Customer Service Portal
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms Of Use
  • Single Issues For Purchase
  • International Print
Commercial Services
  • Advertising
  • Fortune Brand Studio
  • Fortune Analytics
  • Fortune Conferences
  • Business Development
  • Group Subscriptions
About Us
  • About Us
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • About Us
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • Facebook icon
  • Twitter icon
  • LinkedIn icon
  • Instagram icon
  • Pinterest icon

Latest in Tech

FJ Campbell, MD, is chief medical officer at Ardent Health.
CommentaryHealth
A doctor shortage is coming. AI could be the only realistic fix
By FJ CampbellMay 20, 2026
13 minutes ago
Alex Israel crosses his arms
AITerm Sheet
How Metropolis built a $5 billion AI infrastructure company out of America’s parking problem
By Lily Mae LazarusMay 20, 2026
25 minutes ago
Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai in Mountain View, California on May 19, 2026. (Photo: David Paul Morris/Bloomberg/Getty Images)
NewslettersFortune Tech
At Google I/O 2026, it’s AI, AI, and more AI
By Andrew NuscaMay 20, 2026
40 minutes ago
Exclusive: Advocacy groups file complaint against Roblox, alleging its manipulative design puts kids at risk
CybersecurityRoblox
Exclusive: Advocacy groups file complaint against Roblox, alleging its manipulative design puts kids at risk
By Catherina GioinoMay 20, 2026
43 minutes ago
Grab bets on new delivery robots to fix Singapore’s ‘supply-constrained markets’ and solve the last-mile problem
AsiaRobots
Grab bets on new delivery robots to fix Singapore’s ‘supply-constrained markets’ and solve the last-mile problem
By Angelica AngMay 20, 2026
43 minutes ago
How the multibillion dollar AI data center boom has transformed CBRE, the world’s largest commercial real estate company
Real EstateData centers
How the multibillion dollar AI data center boom has transformed CBRE, the world’s largest commercial real estate company
By Sharon GoldmanMay 20, 2026
2 hours ago

Most Popular

Bolt CEO says he let go of his entire HR team for creating problems that didn’t exist: ‘Those problems disappeared when I let them go’ 
Workplace Culture
Bolt CEO says he let go of his entire HR team for creating problems that didn’t exist: ‘Those problems disappeared when I let them go’ 
By Preston ForeMay 19, 2026
14 hours ago
The Bezos family just donated $100 million to help achieve one of Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s top campaign promises
Politics
The Bezos family just donated $100 million to help achieve one of Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s top campaign promises
By Jake AngeloMay 12, 2026
8 days ago
Current price of oil as of May 19, 2026
Personal Finance
Current price of oil as of May 19, 2026
By Joseph HostetlerMay 19, 2026
21 hours ago
Employers are quietly pausing 401(k) matches again. The last time this happened was the 2008 recession and Covid
Personal Finance
Employers are quietly pausing 401(k) matches again. The last time this happened was the 2008 recession and Covid
By Courtney Vinopal and HR BrewMay 18, 2026
2 days ago
Current price of silver as of Monday, May 18, 2026
Personal Finance
Current price of silver as of Monday, May 18, 2026
By Joseph HostetlerMay 18, 2026
2 days ago
While Trump insisted the Iran war would end ‘soon,’ an account in his name was buying millions in oil, defense, and gold
Economy
While Trump insisted the Iran war would end ‘soon,’ an account in his name was buying millions in oil, defense, and gold
By Eva RoytburgMay 18, 2026
2 days ago

© 2026 Fortune Media IP Limited. All Rights Reserved. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy | CA Notice at Collection and Privacy Notice | Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information
FORTUNE is a trademark of Fortune Media IP Limited, registered in the U.S. and other countries. FORTUNE may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.