Shipt Funding, Profile & Why It Matters

Overview

Shipt is a membership-based same-day delivery marketplace connecting customers with personal shoppers for groceries and other retail goods. Founded in Birmingham in 2014 by Bill Smith, the company scaled a shopper network across dozens of markets before Target announced a $550 million all-cash acquisition in December 2017. Target stated Shipt would operate as a wholly owned subsidiary and continue from its Birmingham (and San Francisco) offices. Pre-exit venture backers included Greycroft Partners, e.ventures, and Harbert Venture Partners; public reports put pre-acquisition venture funding around $65M.

Why Shipt is interesting

Birmingham’s clearest venture-scale consumer exit: Bill Smith’s Shipt sold to Target for $550M cash in December 2017 while keeping ops roots in Alabama — proof the city’s marketplace talent can reach national retail infrastructure.

Product & use cases

Shipt members order via app; independent personal shoppers pick and deliver same-day from partner retailers, with Target as parent and a major fulfillment channel.

Consumers needing same-day grocery and household delivery
Retailers adding last-mile capacity without building a full gig fleet
Target guests using Shipt-powered same-day delivery from stores

Key facts

Acquired by Target (Dec 2017) for $550M cash
Founded Birmingham 2014 by Bill Smith; HQ still associated with Birmingham, AL
Pre-exit investors included Greycroft; ~$65M venture capital reported before sale
Same-day personal-shopper marketplace for grocery and retail

Fundraising history

Acquisition

2017-12 $550M

Target (lead)

Source: https://corporate.target.com/press/release/2017/12/target-to-acquire-same-day-delivery-platform-shipt,-inc-to-bolster-fulfillment-capabilities

Venture (pre-exit)

~$65M (reported)

Greycroft (participant)
e.ventures (participant)
Harbert Venture Partners (participant)

Source: https://www.axios.com/2017/12/16/target-buys-same-day-delivery-startup-shipt-1513388622

Investors in our directory

Funds linked from Shipt's profile — open a fund page for stage focus and related deal articles.

Greycroft

Competitive landscape

Edge: Scaled shopper marketplace plus Target’s store network — a distribution advantage pure apps without a national retail parent struggle to match.

Instacart direct

Largest US grocery delivery marketplace competitor.
Amazon Fresh / Whole Foods delivery adjacent

Integrated retail + logistics; different ownership model.
Walmart+ / Spark delivery adjacent

Retailer-owned same-day alternatives.

Notable stories

Target’s 2017 release said Shipt would remain based in Birmingham with Bill Smith continuing as CEO reporting into Target operations — a rare large consumer exit that did not immediately relocate HQ out of Alabama.

Industries

Marketplaces Consumer

FAQs about Shipt

Practical answers founders, operators, and investors typically search for.

Shipt is a same-day delivery marketplace: members order groceries and goods; personal shoppers pick and deliver from local retailers.

Target bought Shipt for $550M in cash in December 2017.

Birmingham, AL, in 2014 by Bill Smith.

Target’s acquisition announcement said Shipt would continue operating from Birmingham (and San Francisco); company materials still associate HQ with Birmingham, AL.

Pre-exit backers included Greycroft (/fund/greycroft), e.ventures, and Harbert Venture Partners; reports cited roughly $65M raised.

Acquired — wholly owned Target subsidiary (announced as independently operated at close).

Both same-day grocery marketplaces; Shipt’s parent is Target, while Instacart is a standalone public/marketplace company with many retail partners.

December 2017 — $550M all-cash deal.

It remains the city’s best-known consumer marketplace exit at national scale.

Venture Capital Tracker

Shipt

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