Wolt

Wolt Enterprises Oy
Company type	Subsidiary
Industry	Food delivery
Founded	1 January 2014; 12 years ago
Founder	Miki Kuusi and five others
Headquarters	Helsinki, Finland
Area served	Europe, Asia
Key people	Miki Kuusi (CEO)
Products	Food delivery services, Wolt Market grocery retail chain
Number of employees	7000+
Parent	DoorDash
Website	wolt.com

Wolt Enterprises Oy, operating under the brand name Wolt, is a Finnish-based company specializing in food delivery services through an online platform. Users can place orders via Wolt’s mobile applications for iOS and Android or through its website, selecting from a variety of affiliated restaurants and retailers with options for either pickup or delivery facilitated by Wolt’s couriers. Additionally, the company manages its own grocery retail chain known as Wolt Market. Headquartered in Helsinki, Wolt extends its services across numerous countries in Europe and Asia.

In May 2022, Wolt was acquired by the American food delivery leader DoorDash, after which it continues to operate as a DoorDash sub-brand throughout Europe and Asia. Meanwhile, DoorDash maintains its original branding within North America and Australasia.

History

Established in 2014 by a group of six founders, including Miki Kuusi—previously CEO of Slush and currently leading Wolt— the company has experienced substantial growth. Following the acquisition by DoorDash, Kuusi now oversees the international operations of DoorDash outside the United States.

By May 2023, Wolt had expanded its presence to 25 countries and more than 300 cities such as Helsinki, Tokyo, and Berlin. The platform collaborates with upwards of 70,000 merchant partners and employs a network of 150,000 couriers, serving a customer base exceeding 20 million registered users. The workforce across all offices totals over 7,000 employees.

In November 2021, Wolt entered into an $8.1 billion merger agreement with DoorDash through a share exchange, which was finalized in May 2022.

Before its acquisition, Wolt secured $856 million in funding from investors including ICONIQ Capital, Highland Europe, EQT Ventures, Tiger Global, DST Global, Prosus, KKR, Coatue, Inventure, Lifeline Ventures, Supercell founder Ilkka Paananen, and Nokia Chairman Risto Siilasmaa.

The company achieved second place in the Financial Times’ FT 1000 ranking of Europe’s fastest-growing firms in 2020.

In October 2024, Wolt expanded its footprint in Central and Eastern Europe by acquiring Tazz, a Romanian food delivery service previously owned by eMAG. The acquisition was completed in early 2025.

June 2025 saw Wolt launching a global marketing campaign across 25 countries to promote its subscription service Wolt+, featuring actor Owen Wilson as the campaign’s ambassador.

Timeline

2014: Founded in Helsinki, Finland.
2015: Operations began in Helsinki offering pickup only.
2016: Introduced delivery services; expanded into Sweden and Estonia. Collaborated with Starship Technologies to pilot autonomous delivery robots in Tallinn.
2017: Entered markets in Denmark, Latvia, and Lithuania.
2018: Expanded to Croatia, Czech Republic, Norway, Hungary, Georgia, Israel, and Poland.
2019: Launched services in Serbia, Greece, Azerbaijan, Slovakia, Slovenia, and Kazakhstan.
2020: Began operations in Japan, Cyprus, Malta, and Germany. Opened Wolt Market grocery stores in Helsinki.
2022: Acquired by DoorDash.
2023: Expanded into Austria and Iceland.
2024: Extended presence to Luxembourg, Albania, and Uzbekistan.
2025: Entered markets including Kosovo, North Macedonia, Romania, and Bulgaria.

Drivers

With the exception of Germany and Denmark, Wolt delivery personnel operate as independent contractors engaged in Gig work. These couriers, classified as self-employed, are responsible for covering all expenses related to their work, including contributions to pension schemes, social security payments, and the costs of necessary equipment. In Finland, coverage for pension and illness is commonly secured through the YEL insurance plan, which becomes compulsory after six months if the annual earnings surpass EUR 8,575.45. When using personal vehicles, couriers must handle expenses such as fuel and insurance themselves and do not receive compensation for holidays. Roughly one-third of these drivers work full-time, about 25% are students, and there is a significant representation of immigrants among couriers in Helsinki.

Criticism

The German Hotel and Restaurant Association (DEHOGA) recommends that eateries avoid partnering with delivery platforms like Wolt because of their 30% commission rates, which disrupt the pricing strategies of restaurants. DEHOGA also cautions that these services might exploit delivery data to establish competing kitchens offering popular menu items, potentially threatening traditional dining establishments.
In Israel, restaurant owners have voiced opposition against Wolt's imposition of an extra 5% "operating fee" on top of the standard 14 ILS delivery charge. The Knesset Economic Committee has called on the Competition Authority to formulate a response plan within one week to tackle concerns regarding escalating fees.
In Denmark, Wolt has encountered persistent criticism and disputes with Danmarks Restauranter & Caféer, leading several restaurants to boycott the platform due to what they perceive as unfair business practices adversely affecting their operational sustainability.

External links

(in English)