History of DoorDash in Timeline

DoorDash is a leading American online food ordering and delivery company, publicly traded under the symbol DASH. It holds the largest market share in the United States for both food delivery (56%) and convenience delivery (60%). As of the end of 2020, DoorDash connected 450,000 merchants with 20 million consumers via a network of over one million delivery couriers, establishing itself as a dominant player in the on-demand delivery service industry.

January 2013: PaloAltoDelivery.com Launch

In January 2013, Tony Xu, Stanley Tang, Andy Fang, and Evan Moore, who were Stanford University students at the time, launched PaloAltoDelivery.com in Palo Alto, California.

June 2013: Incorporation as DoorDash

In June 2013, PaloAltoDelivery.com officially incorporated as DoorDash.

2015: International Expansion Begins

In 2015, DoorDash started its international expansion by launching in Toronto, Canada.

April 14, 2016: Start of Lawsuit

The lawsuit filed in April 2020 against DoorDash, GrubHub, Postmates, and Uber Eats seeks treble damages, including for overcharges, since April 14, 2016, for dine-in and delivery customers in the United States.

2017: Class-Action Lawsuit Filing

In 2017, a class-action lawsuit was filed against DoorDash for allegedly misclassifying delivery drivers in California and Massachusetts as independent contractors.

April 5, 2018: Unaffected Users by Breach

Users who joined the platform after April 5, 2018, were unaffected by the breach

December 2018: Second Position in US Food Delivery Sales

In December 2018, DoorDash surpassed Uber Eats to secure the second position in total U.S. food delivery sales, trailing behind GrubHub.

2018: Chowbotics Valuation

Chowbotics was valued at $46 million in 2018.

2018: Walmart Partnership

In 2018, DoorDash and Walmart started a partnership.

2018: Launch of Project DASH

In 2018, DoorDash initiated Project DASH, partnering with local food security organizations to facilitate the delivery of donations to individuals in need.

March 2019: Market Leadership

By March 2019, DoorDash had exceeded GrubHub in total sales, capturing 27.6% of the on-demand delivery market, and becoming the largest food delivery provider in the U.S. based on consumer spending.

May 4, 2019: Data Breach Confirmation

On May 4, 2019, DoorDash confirmed that sensitive information belonging to 4.9 million customers, delivery workers, and merchants had been compromised in a data breach.

July 2019: Tipping Policy Criticism

In July 2019, DoorDash's tipping policy came under scrutiny, with criticisms highlighting that customer tips were initially used to cover the guaranteed minimum payment to drivers, and drivers only directly received the portion of the tip that exceeded this minimum.

August 2019: Project DASH Expansion

By August 2019, Project DASH had grown to encompass 25 cities across the United States and Canada, successfully delivering over one million pounds of food.

August 2019: Acquisition of Scotty Labs

In August 2019, DoorDash acquired Scotty Labs, a tele-operations startup company focused on self-driving and remote-controlled vehicle technology.

October 2019: Acquisition of Caviar

In October 2019, DoorDash acquired Caviar, a service specializing in food delivery from upscale urban-area restaurants, from Square, Inc. for $410 million.

October 2019: First Ghost Kitchen

In October 2019, DoorDash launched its inaugural ghost kitchen, known as DoorDash Kitchen, situated in Redwood City, California, which accommodated operations for four different restaurants.

October 2019: Class-Action Lawsuit Filing for Data Breach

In October 2019, a class-action lawsuit was filed against DoorDash in response to the data breach that had occurred.

2019: Expansion Outside North America

In 2019, DoorDash began operating in markets outside North America, officially launching in Melbourne, Australia, in September and then further expanding within the country.

January 2020: Reports of Tip Skimming and Manipulation

In January 2020, reports emerged alleging that DoorDash had been untruthful about skimming tips from its drivers, resulting in average earnings of $1.45 an hour after expenses, and that the company was still manipulating per-delivery payouts to the detriment of drivers even after overhauling its tipping system.

April 2020: Accusations of Monopolistic Power

In April 2020, DoorDash, along with GrubHub, Postmates, and Uber Eats, faced accusations of monopolistic power in the case of Davitashvili v. GrubHub Inc. for allegedly only listing restaurants on their apps if the restaurant owners signed contracts that require prices to be the same for dine-in customers as for customers receiving delivery.

June 2020: Funding Rounds

By June 2020, DoorDash had secured more than $2.5 billion through multiple funding rounds, drawing investments from firms such as Y Combinator, Charles River Ventures, SV Angel, Khosla Ventures, Sequoia Capital, SoftBank Group, GIC, and Kleiner Perkins.

August 2020: Grocery Delivery Addition

In August 2020, DoorDash began offering grocery delivery services, initially in California and the Midwest.

August 2020: Arbitration Referral

In August 2020, a DoorDash customer filed a class action lawsuit against the company for its "materially false and misleading" tipping policy, and the case was subsequently referred to arbitration.

November 2020: First Physical Restaurant

In November 2020, DoorDash announced the debut of its first physical restaurant location through a partnership with Burma Bites, a restaurant in the Bay Area, to provide both delivery and pick-up services.

December 9, 2020: Initial Public Offering

On December 9, 2020, DoorDash transitioned into a public company via an initial public offering (IPO), generating $3.37 billion in capital.

2020: Partnership with National Urban League

In 2020, DoorDash partnered with the National Urban League as part of its Main Street Strong program, pledging $200 million over five years to support restaurants and drivers during the COVID-19 pandemic, with $12 million designated to assist drivers of color in building job skills and financial literacy.

December 31, 2020: Platform Usage Statistics

As of December 31, 2020, DoorDash's platform statistics included 450,000 merchants, 20 million consumers, and over one million delivery couriers.

February 8, 2021: Acquisition of Chowbotics

On February 8, 2021, DoorDash announced its acquisition of Chowbotics, a robotics company known for its salad-making robot.

May 2021: Criticism for Unauthorized Listings

In May 2021, DoorDash faced criticism for unauthorized listings of restaurants that had not granted permission to be featured on the app.

July 2021: DoorDash Drivers Strike

In July 2021, DoorDash drivers initiated a strike to protest the lack of tip transparency and to advocate for higher pay.

August 2021: Lawsuit by the City of Chicago

In August 2021, the city of Chicago initiated a lawsuit against DoorDash and GrubHub, alleging that the companies violated the law by employing "unfair and deceptive tactics" that took advantage of restaurants and consumers during the COVID-19 pandemic.

September 2021: Project DASH Growth

As of September 2021, Project DASH was operational in more than 900 cities, having facilitated the delivery of over 15 million meals.

November 9, 2021: Acquisition of Wolt

On November 9, 2021, DoorDash announced its acquisition of the Finnish technology company Wolt for over $8.1 billion.

2021: Service Offerings Expanded

In 2021, DoorDash broadened its service offerings to include DoubleDash, enabling orders from multiple merchants, and alcohol delivery in 20 U.S. states, Washington, D.C., Canada, and Australia.

2021: Further International Expansion

In 2021, DoorDash extended its service area to Sendai, Japan, in June and Stuttgart, Germany, in November.

June 2022: Tip Transparency Concerns

As of June 2022, DoorDash did not allow drivers to see the full tip amounts prior to accepting a delivery in the app.

June 2022: Expansion into New Zealand

In June 2022, DoorDash expanded into the Wellington Region of New Zealand.

August 2022: End of Walmart Partnership

In August 2022, DoorDash announced the termination of its partnership with Walmart, effective in September, concluding a cooperation agreement that began in 2018.

November 2022: Workforce Reduction

In late November 2022, DoorDash revealed its plans to reduce its corporate workforce by 1,250 employees, which is approximately six percent of its total workforce, in an effort to control expenses.

2022: DoorDash Partners with Meals on Wheels

In 2022, DoorDash collaborated with Meals on Wheels to facilitate food delivery to senior citizens, enhancing accessibility to essential meals.

2022: Tentative Settlement Reached

In 2022, a tentative settlement was reached in the class-action lawsuit where DoorDash would pay $100 million, with $61 million going to over 900,000 drivers and $28 million for the lawyers.

June 2023: Hourly Minimum Wage Option

In June 2023, DoorDash announced that its drivers would have the choice to earn an hourly minimum wage instead of being paid per delivery. However, this hourly wage only applies when the drivers are actively engaged in a delivery.

August 2023: Obligation to Pay Drivers and City of Seattle

In August 2023, DoorDash was required to pay its drivers and the city of Seattle a total of $1.6 million due to the platform making it difficult for users to request paid time off.

September 2023: Stock Listing Transfer

In September 2023, DoorDash moved its stock listing from the New York Stock Exchange to the Nasdaq.

December 18, 2023: Addition to Nasdaq-100 Index

On December 18, 2023, DoorDash was added to the Nasdaq-100 index.

February 2024: Civil Penalty for Illegal Data Sales

In February 2024, DoorDash was obligated to pay a $375,000 civil penalty for illegally selling personal data and to begin complying with privacy laws such as CCPA and CalOPPA.

2024: International Expansion

As of the end of 2024, DoorDash, including its European subsidiary Wolt, operated in a combined total of 32 countries outside the United States.

2024: Fortune 500 Debut

In 2024, DoorDash made its debut on the Fortune 500 list, securing the #443 ranking.

March 2025: Partnership with Klarna

In March 2025, DoorDash announced a partnership with Klarna, a Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) service, to allow customers to schedule small payments over time. This decision was met with widespread criticism and internet mockery due to concerns about increasing household debt in America.

April 2025: Initial Offer to Acquire Deliveroo

In April 2025, DoorDash made an initial offer to acquire Deliveroo, a UK-based food delivery company, for £2.7 billion ($3.6 billion).

May 2025: Acquisition of Deliveroo and SevenRooms

In May 2025, DoorDash announced it had acquired Deliveroo for $3.9 billion and also announced the $1.2 billion all-cash acquisition of restaurant booking platform SevenRooms.

September 9, 2025: Partnership with Ace Hardware

On September 9, 2025, DoorDash and Ace Hardware, the largest hardware cooperative, announced a partnership to offer delivery for home improvement products from over 4,000 Ace Hardware locations.

2025: Settlement for Misleading Practices

In 2025, DoorDash agreed to pay around $17 million for "misleading both consumers and delivery workers" by docking tips from drivers' pay instead of allowing tips to go directly to drivers.

2025: Acquisition of Deliveroo

In 2025, DoorDash is set to acquire the UK-based delivery service Deliveroo for $3.88 billion, resulting in a combined company that will operate in 40 countries and serve 50 million users monthly.