Instacart, the US grocery technology company listed on Nasdaq as CART, announced on April 14, 2026 that it had acquired Instaleap, a grocery e-commerce software company founded in Colombia that serves retailers in Latin America, Europe and the Middle East.
Financial terms were not disclosed. Instacart said Instaleap would at first run as a wholly owned subsidiary so that service for its retail clients continues without interruption. Over time, Instacart plans to offer more of its own enterprise products, including e-commerce, connected store, retail media, AI and data tools, to Instaleap's customers.
The deal gives Instacart, whose consumer delivery service operates only in North America, an existing base of grocery clients abroad without having to build its own operations market by market, as Forbes Colombia noted.
What Instaleap built
Instaleap sells software that ties together the steps of online grocery: order management, in-store picking, routing, logistics and the customer experience. Retailers use it to meet delivery promises and control costs. Instacart said the platform has handled more than 100 million transactions.
The company works with close to 100 grocery retailers and marketplaces outside North America, across nearly 30 countries. Named clients include Cencosud, Continente, Jerónimo Martins, Lulu and SPAR. Forbes Colombia added Éxito, Makro and Tottus, which it said was the first client, and reported that Walmart Mexico's Bodega Aurrerá chain runs on the platform in about 800 stores.
Instaleap charges supermarkets a monthly software fee plus a component tied to transaction volume, according to Forbes Colombia. Investor Axon Partners Group said the company works from hubs in Bogotá, Lisbon and São Paulo and works with close to 80 percent of the leading retailers in Colombia, Mexico and Argentina.
“We've built our platform with a deep focus on the unique needs of grocery retailers across diverse international markets. Joining Instacart enables us to scale our impact with the support of a trusted partner that shares our commitment to retailer success.”
Why Instacart is buying
Instacart partners with more than 2,200 retail banners covering nearly 100,000 stores. Its enterprise products include Storefront Pro, which powers online grocery for more than 380 banners such as Aldi, Costco, Publix and Sprouts; Carrot Ads, a retail media product used by more than 310 retailers and partners; FoodStorm order management; and Caper Carts, AI-powered shopping carts that are launching with Coles in Australia and Morrisons in the UK.
Ryan Hamburger, Instacart's chief commercial officer, said the company saw a meaningful opportunity to expand internationally through an enterprise-led strategy, and that Instaleap's technology, international experience and retailer relationships would speed that up. He said Instacart had already seen early traction for Storefront Pro and Caper Carts in Europe and Australia.
The founders and the funding
Instaleap was founded in 2019 by Antonio dos Santos Nunes, who leads it as chief executive, and Margarida Freitas, according to LatamList; Forbes Colombia also named Carlos Rodríguez and Antonio Navarro as founders. Nunes previously co-founded Linio. Instaleap was preceded by Mercadoni, a consumer grocery marketplace that did not become viable, before the business moved to selling software to retailers.
Axon Partners Group said it first invested in 2015, when the business was still a consumer grocery marketplace, and that the sale ended a decade of support. Forbes Colombia reported that Instaleap raised a Series A in 2024 alongside venture debt and was close to break-even before the sale; amounts were not disclosed. Its investors include Pegasus, Axon, Redwood, former Walmart executive Eduardo Castro-Wright and several family offices.
Nunes said the company had built its platform around the needs of grocery retailers in very different international markets, and that joining Instacart would let it scale with a trusted partner.
A Latin American exit
Axon described the deal as one of the most significant technology exits in Colombia in the past decade, pointing to a company that started in Bogotá and was bought by a strategic US buyer. Forbes Colombia put Instacart's market value at close to $9.2 billion and its 2025 adjusted EBITDA at $1.09 billion.
For retailers on Instaleap, Instacart said the immediate priority is continuity, with no announced changes to the service or to the company's leadership.
