Apoorva Mehta
{{Short description|Canadian-American billionaire}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Apoorva Mehta
| image =
| caption =
| birth_date = {{birth year and age|1986}}
| birth_place = Jodhpur, India
| education = University of Waterloo
| occupation = CEO and co-founder, Cloud Health Systems
| known_for = Founder of Instacart
}}
Apoorva Mehta (born 1986) is a billionaire Canadian-American businessman and the founder of Instacart and Cloud Health Systems.{{Cite news |url=https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/359118 |title=The One Thing Instacart's Now-Billionaire CEO Changed After 20 Failed Startup Ideas | last=Wolny |first=Nick | work=Entrepreneur | date=November 16, 2020}}{{Cite news | url=https://www.gqindia.com/get-smart/content/apoorva-mehta-founder-ceo-of-instacart-is-the-newest-member-billionaires-club |title=Meet Aproova Mehta, the founder of grocery delivery app Instacart, who's the newest member of the billionaires' club |work=GQ | date=June 19, 2020}} As of September 2023 he had a net worth of $1.3 billion, owing to his 10% ownership share of Instacart and his stake in Cloud Health Systems.{{cite news |last1=Carson |first1=Biz |last2=Lung |first2=Natalie |title=Instacart Founder Exits With $1.3 Billion Fortune After IPO |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2024-09-19/instacart-founder-departs-with-1-3-billion-fortune-after-ipo |access-date=27 March 2024 |work=Bloomberg.com |date=19 September 2023 |language=en}}
Biography
=Early life and education=
Mehta was born in 1986 in Jodhpur, India.{{Cite news |url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/chloesorvino/2021/01/27/instacart-survived-covid-chaos---but-can-it-keep-delivering-after-the-pandemic/ |title=Instacart Survived Covid Chaos — But Can It Keep Delivering After The Pandemic? |last=Sorvino |first=Chloe | work=Forbes | date=January 27, 2021 | url-access=limited}} He moved to Libya shortly after he was born, where his father worked for electric transmission line company. In 2000, when he was 14, he and his family moved to Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. He graduated from the University of Waterloo with an electrical engineering degree.{{Cite news |url=https://www.latimes.com/business/technology/la-fi-himi-apoorva-mehta-20170105-story.html |title=Apoorva Mehta had 20 failed start-ups before Instacart | first=TRACEY | last=LIEN | work=Los Angeles Times |date=January 27, 2017 | url-access=limited}}{{Cite news |url=https://www.businessinsider.com/instacart-founder-apoorva-mehta-now-a-billionaire-forbes-says-2020-6 |title=Instacart founder Kedar Mehta is now a billionaire, Forbes says |last=Rogers |first=Taylor Nicole |work=Business Insider| date=June 17, 2020}}
=Early career=
Mehta worked for four months as a design engineer at Blackberry and Qualcomm before joining Amazon in 2008{{Cite news |url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/jenniferwang/2020/06/17/instacart-founder-apoorva-mehta-becomes-a-billionaire/ |title=Instacart Founder Apoorva Mehta Becomes A Billionaire After New Funding Round |last=Wang |first=Jennifer |work=Forbes | date=June 17, 2020 | url-access=limited}} as a supply-chain engineer. In 2010, Mehta left Amazon and moved to San Francisco to become an entrepreneur. Between 2010 and 2012, he launched 20 startups, almost all of which failed. Failed businesses included an advertising startup for gaming companies and a social network for lawyers.{{cite news | url=https://www.cnbc.com/2023/09/20/instacart-founder-launched-20-failed-companies-now-hes-a-billionaire.html | title=37-year-old quit Amazon and started 20 companies before coming up with Instacart—now he's worth $1.1 billion | first=Tom | last=Huddleston Jr. | work=CNBC | date=September 20, 2023}}
=Instacart=
After getting inspiration from being low on groceries without owning a car as well as his trips to the grocery store by bus in the cold while growing up in Canada, Mehta founded Instacart in 2012 at age 26. He tried to apply for funding through Y Combinator but missed the deadline. He eventually got a meeting by using the Instacart mobile app to deliver a six-pack of beer from 21st Amendment Brewery to a Y Combinator partner and was admitted to the summer of 2012 batch.{{Cite news | url=https://www.bizjournals.com/bizjournals/news/2014/12/31/ex-amazon-engineer-apoorva-mehta-instacart.html |title=How this ex-Amazon engineer launched $2 billion startup Instacart | first=Teresa | last=Novellino | work=American City Business Journals | date=December 31, 2014}} Y Combinator helped Mehta raise $2.3 million in funding and enabled him to meet his two co-founders, Max Mullen and Brandon Leonardo.{{Cite news |url=https://www.ycombinator.com/blog/qa-with-apoorva-mehta-founder-ceo-instacart/ | title=Q&A with Apoorva Mehta, Founder & CEO, Instacart | work=Y Combinator | date=October 17, 2018}}
In July 2021, Mehta resigned as CEO and became the executive chairman. He left the company entirely in September 2023.{{Cite news | url=https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/tech/technology/instacart-founder-apoorva-mehta-exits-with-1-1-billion-fortune-after-ipo/articleshow/103799808.cms | title=Instacart founder Apoorva Mehta exits with $1.1 billion fortune after IPO | agency=Bloomberg News | work=Times Internet | date=September 20, 2023}}
=Cloud Health Systems=
In 2022, Mehta founded Cloud Health Systems, a medical consulting venture. The company raised $30 million in seed funding, led by venture capital firm Thrive Capital, and was valued at $200 million.{{Cite news | url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/instacart-co-founder-raises-30-million-for-new-healthcare-company-11669754224 | title=Instacart Co-Founder Raises $30 Million for New Healthcare Company | first1=Berber | last1=Jin | first2=Marc | last2=Vartabedian | work=The Wall Street Journal | date=November 29, 2022 | url-access=subscription}}
Awards and recognition
References
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