DoorDash

DoorDash, Inc.
Company type	Public
Industry	Food delivery
Founded	June 2013; 13 years ago
Founder	Tony Xu, Andy Fang, Stanley Tang
Headquarters	San Francisco, United States
Area served	United States, Canada, Australia, Japan, Germany, New Zealand, and others (32 countries as of 2024)
Key people	Tony Xu (CEO)
Products	Food ordering and delivery platform
Number of employees	20,000+ (estimated from context)
Website	doordash.com

DoorDash, Inc. is a U.S.-based online platform specializing in food ordering and delivery, publicly traded under the ticker DASH. Commanding a 56% share of the market, it stands as the foremost food delivery service in the United States and dominates the convenience delivery sector with 60% market control. As of December 31, 2020, DoorDash partnered with 450,000 merchants, catered to 20 million customers, and engaged more than one million delivery drivers.

Established by Tony Xu, Andy Fang, and Stanley Tang, DoorDash secured a position on the Fortune 500 list in 2024, ranking at number 443.

The company has encountered various legal disputes involving issues such as tip withholding and transparency, antitrust concerns over pricing practices, unauthorized listings of restaurants, worker classification controversies, policies on sick leave, and the sale of personal data.

Globally, DoorDash operates alongside its European affiliate Wolt across 32 countries as of late 2024.

History

In January 2013, Stanford University students Tony Xu, Stanley Tang, and Andy Fang launched PaloAltoDelivery.com based in Palo Alto, California. That summer, they secured $120,000 in seed funding from Y Combinator in exchange for a 7% equity stake and formally incorporated as DoorDash in June 2013.

By December 2018, DoorDash had overtaken Uber Eats to become the second-largest food delivery provider in the U.S., trailing only behind GrubHub. By March 2019, it led the market with a 27.6% share and had become the top U.S. food delivery company by consumer expenditure early that year.

In October 2019, DoorDash inaugurated its inaugural ghost kitchen, named DoorDash Kitchen, located in Redwood City, California, hosting four different restaurant brands. By June 2020, the company had raised upwards of $2.5 billion from investors including Y Combinator, Charles River Ventures, SV Angel, Khosla Ventures, Sequoia Capital, SoftBank Group, Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund GIC, and Kleiner Perkins.

November 2020 saw DoorDash open its first brick-and-mortar restaurant through a collaboration with Bay Area eatery Burma Bites for delivery and pickup services. On December 9, 2020, DoorDash launched its initial public offering (IPO), generating $3.37 billion.

In August 2022, DoorDash terminated its partnership with Walmart, ending a collaboration that began in 2018. Later that November, it announced a reduction of approximately six percent of its corporate workforce—about 1,250 employees—in an effort to cut costs.

June 2023 introduced a new payment model allowing drivers to earn a guaranteed minimum hourly wage instead of being paid solely per delivery; however, this hourly rate applies only during active delivery periods.

In September 2023, DoorDash shifted its stock exchange listing from the New York Stock Exchange to the Nasdaq. Subsequently, on December 18, 2023, it was incorporated into the Nasdaq-100 index.

March 2025 marked DoorDash’s collaboration with BNPL provider Klarna, enabling customers to defer payments over time—a decision that sparked criticism amid growing concerns about increasing household debt levels in the U.S.

Also in 2025, DoorDash revealed intentions to acquire UK-based delivery firm Deliveroo for $3.88 billion. This merger will create an entity operating across 40 countries and serving approximately 50 million users each month.

2017 Class-Action Suit Over Worker Classification

In 2017, DoorDash was the subject of a class-action lawsuit alleging the improper classification of delivery drivers in California and Massachusetts as independent contractors rather than employees. A proposed settlement in 2022 required the company to disburse $100 million, which included $61 million distributed among more than 900,000 drivers—averaging slightly above $130 per individual—and $28 million allocated for legal expenses. Observers criticized the settlement amount, especially when compared to CEO Tony Xu’s compensation of $413 million in the preceding year.

2019 Lawsuit Related to Data Breach

DoorDash revealed on May 4, 2019, that a security breach had compromised data belonging to 4.9 million customers, drivers, and merchants, excluding those who joined after April 5, 2018. This incident led to a class-action lawsuit filed in October 2019.

Tip Withholding Controversy and Related Class-Action Lawsuits

In July 2019, DoorDash’s tipping policy attracted scrutiny from prominent media outlets. The company guaranteed drivers a minimum payment per order funded by DoorDash itself; however, customer tips were initially applied to meet this guaranteed minimum rather than being paid directly to drivers. As a result, drivers only received tips exceeding the guaranteed base amount.

By January 2020, reports indicated that DoorDash had misrepresented how its tipping system worked, with some drivers earning as little as $1.45 per hour after deducting expenses. Although DoorDash claimed to have restructured its payout system, allegations of continued manipulation persisted.

A customer initiated a class-action lawsuit challenging the deceptive tipping practices; this case proceeded to arbitration in August 2020. Facing mounting pressure, DoorDash modified its tipping framework, which reportedly led to increased earnings for drivers. Additionally, the company reached a $2.5 million settlement with the District of Columbia Attorney General’s office, directing funds toward delivery workers, governmental bodies, and charitable organizations.

Driver Strike in 2021 Demanding Tip Transparency

In July 2021, DoorDash drivers organized a strike advocating for clearer disclosure of tip amounts and improved compensation. At that time—and continuing through June 2022—DoorDash did not allow drivers to view full tip values before accepting delivery assignments. If customers tipped above a predetermined limit, DoorDash withheld part of the tip until the delivery was completed. The strike was triggered by changes in DoorDash’s code that blocked access to Para, a third-party tool drivers used to monitor their full tips.

Settlement of 2025 Class-Action Lawsuit

In 2025, DoorDash consented to a $17 million settlement addressing allegations that it misled consumers and delivery personnel by deducting tips from driver payments instead of transferring them fully and directly. This agreement resolved accusations concerning improper tip handling affecting driver remuneration.

Antitrust Lawsuit Filed in 2020

In April 2020, DoorDash along with Grubhub, Postmates, and Uber Eats were sued over alleged monopolistic conduct requiring restaurants to maintain identical pricing for dine-in and delivery orders. Plaintiffs contended that this practice compelled dine-in patrons to subsidize delivery expenses and accused these platforms of imposing excessive fees ranging between 13% and 40% of restaurant revenues—far surpassing typical profit margins of 3% to 9%. The lawsuit sought triple damages for overcharges dating back to April 2016 involving U.S. customers using these services. The case underscored issues regarding anti-competitive agreements restricting restaurants’ pricing autonomy and increasing consumer costs. Trial dates remain pending.

Legal actions concerning unauthorized restaurant listings

In May 2021, DoorDash encountered backlash after listing certain restaurants without obtaining their approval. Lona's Lil Eats, located in St. Louis, initiated legal proceedings against the company, claiming that DoorDash included them in its listings without permission and subsequently blocked orders, diverting customers elsewhere because the restaurant had not paid a listing fee. This conduct violates California law.

2021 lawsuit filed by Chicago

In August 2021, the city of Chicago brought a lawsuit against DoorDash and GrubHub, accusing both firms of employing "unfair and deceptive practices" that exploited restaurants and consumers amid the COVID-19 crisis. The companies rejected these accusations.

2023 class-action litigation

DoorDash faced allegations in 2023 that it imposed higher fees and delivery charges on iPhone users compared to those using Android devices. The company refuted these claims during a $1 billion class-action lawsuit.

2023 Seattle lawsuit settlement

In August 2023, DoorDash agreed to a $1.6 million settlement with drivers and the city of Seattle after being found to have made it difficult for workers to request paid leave. The agreement allocated $1.1 million for safe and sick time credits, $500,000 directly to drivers, along with $8,500 paid in city fees.

2024 California privacy violation penalty

In February 2024, DoorDash was fined $375,000 for unlawfully selling personal information and was mandated to adhere to privacy regulations it had previously ignored, specifically the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) and the California Online Privacy Protection Act (CalOPPA).

Market expansion

DoorDash initiated its international growth in 2015 by launching services in Toronto, Canada. In 2019, it expanded beyond North America with an entry into Melbourne, Australia, followed by further expansion within the country. In 2021, DoorDash extended operations to Sendai, Japan in June and Stuttgart, Germany in November. The company also entered New Zealand’s Wellington Region in June 2022.

In 2020, DoorDash diversified its services by introducing grocery delivery across California and the Midwest. The following year, it rolled out DoubleDash, allowing customers to order from multiple merchants simultaneously, and launched alcohol delivery in 20 U.S. states as well as Washington, D.C., Canada, and Australia.

Corporate acquisitions

In August 2019, DoorDash acquired Scotty Labs, a startup specializing in tele-operation technology for autonomous and remotely controlled vehicles.

October 2019 saw DoorDash purchase Caviar from Square, Inc. for $410 million; Caviar is a food delivery platform catering to upscale urban restaurants that generally do not provide delivery services.

On February 8, 2021, DoorDash completed the acquisition of robotics company Chowbotics, known for its automated salad-making robot. Although financial terms were not disclosed, Chowbotics had been valued at $46 million in 2018.

On November 9, 2021, DoorDash announced its acquisition of Finnish tech firm Wolt for more than $8.1 billion.

In April 2025, DoorDash made an initial bid to acquire UK-based Deliveroo for £2.7 billion ($3.6 billion). By May 2025, the acquisition was finalized at $3.9 billion. That same month also saw DoorDash announce the $1.2 billion all-cash purchase of SevenRooms, a restaurant reservation platform.

Philanthropy

In 2018, DoorDash introduced Project DASH, collaborating with community-based food security organizations to facilitate the delivery of donated food to individuals in need. By August 2019, this initiative had grown to cover 25 cities throughout the United States and Canada, distributing in excess of one million pounds of food. As of September 2021, Project DASH was active in over 900 cities, having provided more than 15 million meals.

During 2020, DoorDash joined forces with the National Urban League via its Main Street Strong initiative, committing $200 million over a five-year span to aid restaurants and delivery drivers affected by the COVID-19 crisis. From this commitment, $12 million was specifically designated to support drivers of color by enhancing their job skills and financial literacy.

In 2022, DoorDash partnered with Meals on Wheels to support the delivery of meals to elderly individuals.

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