The Berlin-based delivery service Flink is once again in need of funding. However, in the current market environment, finding investors willing to provide funds is proving to be a challenge. Despite this, the unicorn has already received commitments from some investors.

Flink is a fast delivery service that needs more money, at least until it reaches profitability. In Germany, where the online supermarket earns about half of its revenues, co-founder and CEO Oliver Merkel aims to turn a profit by the fourth quarter of 2023. One year later, Flink should be completely profitable.

Gründerszene reported earlier this year, citing sources within the company, that the delivery service was planning to close a financing round in the spring. Due to the current challenging market conditions, however, the startup expects the investment to be finalized in the early summer. Nonetheless, insiders say that the unicorn has received commitments for up to €100 million. According to Handelsblatt, the financing round could be worth around €200 million and will involve both existing and new investors. One of the existing shareholders who will be increasing their investment is the supermarket chain Rewe.

Despite this, an agreement on the financing is still far from certain, and the discussions are still in the early stages. Additionally, the impending injection of funds may leave a sour taste in Flink’s mouth. Several individuals familiar with the matter have confirmed to Handelsblatt that the firm’s valuation will decrease significantly, making it unlikely that it will be able to maintain its previous post-money valuation of nearly €3 billion in the current market environment. As a result, a downround is likely.

This is not surprising, however, as many tech companies are currently struggling with significant devaluations. After the initial boom of bike couriers who deliver groceries to households within minutes and startups such as Gorillas and Flink rapidly becoming unicorns, the capital-intensive model has proven to be a loss-making business in the long term. The increased cost of groceries and high logistics and personnel costs have placed an additional burden on startups during the economic crisis. In December 2022, Gorillas was acquired by the Turkish delivery service Getir.

Although Flink generated a record-high revenue of around €400 million last year, losses continue to pile up, and austerity measures are necessary instead of growth. For instance, at the end of 2022, Flink’s Austrian subsidiary had to declare bankruptcy. While investors are not currently speculating that the pink delivery service will eventually be sold off, industry experts had previously expressed this belief. Nonetheless, the financing round is expected to be in the triple-digit millions. In December 2021, Flink secured approximately €759 million, including from US delivery service Doordash, increasing its valuation to nearly €3 billion. Last spring, the French supermarket chain Carrefour invested €60 million in Flink after the Berlin startup acquired the Carrefour-backed Cajoo.