DoorDash announced Thursday that it is preparing a public offering and has filed confidential documents with the SEC as a first step.
The food-delivery startup is valued at $13 billion as of November, and has raised more than $2 billion in funding since it was founded in 2013, according to PitchBook.
It's one of many high-profile startups backed by SoftBank's Vision Fund, which also backs rival delivery service Uber. The two companies were exploring a merger last year, according to the Financial Times. Other early investors included Sequoia Capital, GIC, Wellcome Trust, Temasek, and Dragoneer Investment Group.
The confidential filing is a first step toward an IPO. The number of shares that will be offered and their price have yet to be determined.
"The initial public offering is expected to take place after the SEC completes its review process, subject to market and other conditions," DoorDash said in a press release.
In the past year, DoorDash drew backlash for its policy of keeping workers' tips on certain deliveries. DoorDash changed its tips policy in August 2019, but now faces a lawsuit over the practice.
As its IPO approaches, the startup's business will likely face close scrutiny from potential investors wary of rapid-growth companies with questionable profitability models after WeWork's botched IPO attempt last year. DoorDash has previously shared little about its finances, which it will have to disclose in the run-up to its public offering.
In a February 2019 interview with CNBC, DoorDash CEO Tony Xu described a potential IPO as a natural next step that wouldn't influence the company's financial plans. He added that the company was focusing on growth, rather than profitability.
"We're choosing to invest in growth and delay profitability for the entire company," Xu said. "But we have the means in which to do that and we know how to get there. But right now we want to accelerate to the number-one position sooner. And we want to serve merchants beyond restaurants earlier, and that's what we're focused on right now."
