Dive Brief:
- Instacart announced Wednesday that it has hired Uber executive Anirban Kundu as its chief technology officer.
- Kundu, who will join the grocery technology company later this month, most recently served as vice president and head of engineering for Uber Delivery.
- Instacart said Kundu’s appointment will help the company further its ambitions to be the grocery industry’s leading technology provider.
Dive Insight:
Instacart is snapping up a rival’s high-level technology executive as it looks to expand its omnichannel reach.
At Uber, Kundu led the platform’s B2B and B2C solutions, including Uber Eats and the company’s advertising solutions business, Instacart said. Along with his roughly three years at Uber, Kundu also brings experience from Postmates, Evernote, GoDaddy, Shazam and Yahoo.
Instacart said Kundu will lead Instacart’s technical team, noting that he brings a deep understanding of multi-sided marketplaces and experience building scaled technical systems that can support long-term growth.
Varouj Chitilian, who joined Instacart as its vice president of engineering in 2018, served as the company’s CTO after Mark Schaaf left the position in 2022. Chitilian left Instacart in February, an Instacart spokesperson said.
Instacart noted that its stock, which is currently up nearly 80% year-to-date, hit an all-time high last week and that it delivered two consecutive quarters of double-digit year-over-year growth in gross transaction volume.
Kundu is joining Instacart at a time when the company is rapidly expanding its omnichannel technology solutions for the grocery industry. The company recently expanded its smart cart capabilities and brought the carts to Europe.
Earlier this year, Instacart and Uber unveiled a partnership that gives Instacart users access to restaurant delivery.
