Wonder IPO discussions are on the table as Marc Lore’s fast-growing food technology startup accelerates expansion, rolls out a creator-focused subscription offering, and targets Texas with an aggressive store buildout.
Wonder IPO and growth strategy
Less than 10 years after its founding, Wonder has rapidly increased its footprint and valuation and is now weighing a potential initial public offering, according to company leaders. The startup is also preparing a subscription program that lets users launch their own branded “restaurants,” alongside a major push into Texas.
Founded by serial entrepreneur Marc Lore in 2018, Wonder promotes access to “the best restaurants from across the country, all in one place.” Customers can order takeout or delivery from its food hall-style sites via the Wonder app or third-party platforms, including Grubhub, which Wonder now owns. Lore described Wonder as a vertically integrated food technology platform focused on making high-quality food more accessible.
The company plans to open locations in urban, suburban, and rural markets nationwide and aims to keep prices below the cost of delivered groceries. Because Wonder owns Grubhub, users who order through Wonder’s app do not pay delivery fees, and menu prices are not marked up to cover commissions. The company is also automating elements of kitchen work, such as assembling salads and bowls and, soon, sauces and beverages. Lore said Wonder is targeting fully autonomous food preparation and delivery by 2040.
Lore’s vision has helped Wonder raise $3.3 billion from backers including DoorDash, Alphabet’s venture arm, and Gwyneth Paltrow. A Series D round earlier this year set a pre-money valuation of $9 billion. Leadership said a public listing could be the next step if market conditions for new offerings improve. Lore said going public would support long-term investment and provide a stock currency for mergers and acquisitions, while declining to discuss timing.
Lore’s track record
Lore’s background is in e-commerce. He co-founded the company behind Diapers.com and sold it to Amazon in 2010 for $545 million, then launched Jet.com, which Walmart acquired for about $3 billion in 2016. He remained at Walmart through 2021 to help drive its online growth. He is also known in sports as a Minnesota Timberwolves owner. In 2021, he and Alex Rodriguez agreed to buy the team for $1.5 billion, a transaction finalized in 2025. Rodriguez said in August that Lore recently reduced his stake to a minority position to focus on Wonder.
Wonder began with sprinter vans equipped as mobile kitchens serving neighborhoods, before transitioning after roughly two years to brick-and-mortar sites to broaden menu variety and lower costs. Lore’s history of building and selling companies has attracted investors. A managing partner at GV, Alphabet’s venture capital arm, who previously backed Jet.com, said he routinely invests in areas such as enterprise software and AI, as well as companies where Lore is an active CEO.
Wonder has spent more than $1 billion on acquisitions, excluding undisclosed deal terms, including the purchases of Grubhub, delivery and logistics firm Relay, meal-kit provider Blue Apron, and several New York restaurant concepts. Lore sees a large total addressable market for high-quality food at accessible prices, particularly in exurban and rural areas where choices are limited.
Wonder gets bigger in Texas
From Virginia to Massachusetts, Wonder has opened 170 storefronts in the last three years. The company plans to enter Texas next year and is targeting at least 100 locations in the state by the end of 2027.
Food is prepared at commissary kitchens, then transported to local sites, where staff unseal, cook, and finish dishes. Stores operate on all-electric systems without gas or venting so the company can move into spaces quickly and limit renovations and permitting.
Each location offers items from more than two dozen brands, including Dabba Indian Kitchen, Tejas Barbecue, and Pop Salad. Celebrity chefs such as Bobby Flay, Michael Symon, and Marcus Samuelsson receive up-front payments and equity for the use of their names on certain concepts. Recent additions include acquired brands like Blue Ribbon Fried Chicken and Salt Hank’s.
Wonder’s model has been compared to ghost kitchens that expanded during the pandemic and later struggled as delivery demand cooled, with companies such as Kitchen United seeking bankruptcy protection. Lore rejects the comparison, pointing to Wonder’s visible front-of-house operations, dine-in presence, and vertical integration. The company has described itself as a new type of food hall, then a modern food court, and now a vertically integrated food technology platform.
Starting Nov. 17, Wonder plans to debut Wonder Create, a $10-per-month subscription that allows influencers, entrepreneurs, and brands to launch a virtual “restaurant” from a Wonder location and share in revenue from orders. Artificial intelligence will assist with brand creation, including names, logos, pricing, and recipes. Lore said the service could support private concepts for friends or influencer-led brands. The longer-term plan is to open Wonder Create to the public, with menus built from Wonder’s pantry.
Separately, the company is testing MEL, a proprietary AI tool that uses health information, such as data from devices like Oura or Whoop and even blood biomarkers, to recommend tailored meals for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. MEL is not yet available to customers, although Lore uses AI guidance for his own meals.
The quality question
Despite investor enthusiasm, Wonder faces a tougher sell with consumers confronting higher costs and changing dining habits. While delivery remains above pre-pandemic levels, order volumes have moderated from pandemic peaks, and fees as well as higher menu prices can make delivered meals more expensive than dining in.
Some social media posts have criticized Wonder’s food quality and its venture backers. One Philadelphia customer reviewing an order of three tacos in late 2025 said the items were average and overpriced. Lore said Wonder gathers thousands of daily customer reviews scoring taste, temperature, and portion size from one to ten. A GV investor said Wonder’s board meetings open with taste metrics. Lore added that the company is intensely focused on food quality and is iterating on lower-scoring meals, with improvements in taste scores and Google reviews over the past 12 months. He expects quality to improve as the company scales.
Transaction data from Indagari indicated Wonder’s weighted average retention rate and customer lifetime value exceeded those of Cava and Sweetgreen. Backers also point to performance in New York, one of the nation’s most competitive restaurant markets.
In March, Wonder hired Gabrielle Scheibe Rabinovitch, formerly of payments processor Worldpay, as chief financial officer as it prepares for a possible offering. Lore has said the company will be ready to go public early next year, while declining to provide specific timing. According to prior reporting, Wonder has operated at a loss since acquiring Blue Apron and Grubhub, and aims to reduce meal prices through automation and drone delivery, though building that capability will require significant investment.
Market analysts note that investors have grown less tolerant of growth-at-all-costs strategies. To attract public market buyers, unprofitable issuers typically must demonstrate a path to profitability or durable growth beyond the IPO window. For some investors, that includes comparing potential issuers with established public companies, such as those tracked in recent automotive and industrial earnings.