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Inside the world’s biggest and most innovative delivery startups

From global titans to last-mile problem solvers, the companies making sure items make their way around the world and into your home are evolving and multiplying before our eyes. We track the innovations, setbacks, labor troubles, and the bottom line in markets from Kashmir to Colombia.

Labor 7 October 2021

A tiny tweak to Zomato’s algorithm led to lost delivery riders, stolen bikes and missed wages

The Indian food delivery giant changed riders’ beats without warning, crashing their earnings and exposing some to crime.

By Nilesh Christopher

Labor 20 September 2021

Dreams of a delivery workers union crash into Latin American realities

International solidarity among riders is splintering in the face of inflexible laws, political opposition, and local concerns.

By Vittoria Elliott, Juan José Relmucao and Megan Janetsky

E-commerce 13 September 2021

This delivery app went above and beyond for its workers. Then Uber took over

Everything changed after Chilean unicorn Cornershop was bought by the American ride-hailing giant.

By Charis McGowan

E-commerce 19 July 2021

The pandemic didn’t kill Singapore’s UNESCO-listed food stalls. Delivery apps might

Super apps like Grab can afford to burn cash, but the restaurants they work with can't.

Report 14 July 2021

The revolt against Zomato

Ahead of the company’s $1.3 billion IPO, restaurants are moving to other platforms with lower commissions that provide more access to customer data.

By Nilesh Christopher

Features 10 June 2021

“Amazon Go Back”: Meet the Indian merchant waging war on Jeff Bezos

Praveen Khandelwal has built a name fighting against e-commerce. Now, he’s launching his own online marketplace.

By Nilesh Christopher

Access & Connectivity 21 May 2021

How a local delivery startup outplayed big foreign competitors in Kashmir

FastBeetle launched just before the region’s longest internet shutdown. The founders used it to their advantage.

By Ahmer Khan and Ruwa Shah

Features 17 November 2020

The cost of convenience

South Korea’s Coupang promised to make e-commerce lightning fast. A Covid-19 outbreak at one of its warehouses shows that its workers paid the price.

Labor 7 May 2021

Indian delivery giant touts pandemic profits— while drivers suffer through a deadly second wave

Ahead of its IPO, Zomato drivers are paying for their own masks and sanitizer.

By Nilesh Christopher and Meaghan Tobin

Money 29 March 2021

How Jüsto became an investor darling with a basic grocery app

The Mexican startup raised Latin America’s largest series A in a decade.

By Mariana López Gómez

Labor 26 March 2021

“We are getting less money after working more”: Why Amazon drivers are going on strike in India

The demonstration will be the first nationwide protest at the e-commerce giant.

By Nilesh Christopher and Louise Matsakis

Year of the pandemic 16 March 2021

The hidden winners of the pandemic’s e-commerce boom

As the pandemic pushes e-commerce profits to new heights, logistics companies are seizing the opportunity.

E-commerce 3 March 2021

For delivery apps in the UAE, it’s a race to the bottom

Careem and Noon are fighting for control of the market, but restaurants say they’re getting the squeeze.

By Meaghan Tobin

Money 28 May 2021

The $18 billion Gojek-Tokopedia merger sets the stage for a fintech showdown

GoTo will look like a super app — but act like a financial service juggernaut.

By Meaghan Tobin and Wulan Kusuma Wardhani

Labor 18 May 2021

“Only Gojek knows this mystery”

Indonesian ride-hailing giant Gojek uses a complex system of reward and punishment to motivate its drivers, but its contractors say that it is exploitative.

By Dyna Rochmyaningsih

Ideas 21 April 2021

Global South startups can do better than Silicon Valley

Grab positioned its changes as a triumph of innovative problem solving without acknowledging that the practices it was embracing had been around for decades.

E-commerce 20 January 2021

The cutthroat war to dominate China’s grocery delivery industry

Community group buying is helping tech giants capture a valuable new market. But can neighborly trust be converted into brand loyalty?

By Meaghan Tobin and Louise Matsakis

E-commerce 19 November 2020

How one “unicorn” transformed Colombia’s delivery ecosystem

After the success of one delivery platform, e-commerce is booming in Colombia.

By Leo Schwartz

Tech 101 27 October 2020

Your package has arrived

One year after a rocky public offering, African e-commerce giant Jumia is seeing a boom in sales — but not in profits.

Q & A 14 December 2020

The man who built Venezuela’s only delivery app

After years of political and economic turmoil, few tech companies were willing to work in Venezuela. So Vicente Zavarce, a Caracas native, founded his own.

By Vittoria Elliott

Lists 19 May 2021

The wild frontiers of online shopping in Asia

The future of online shopping is already here. These five trends are changing the way we shop — blurring the lines between online and offline, games and reality.

By Meaghan Tobin

E-commerce 21 May 2021

Amazon finally opens its marketplace to merchants from Pakistan

The tech giant previously ran a pilot program with some of the country’s largest manufacturers.

By Zuha Siddiqui

Money 30 April 2021

Masafumi Ito, leader of the Amazon Japan Union, sues for wrongful termination

His lawyers argue the tech giant unfairly fired him for his organizing activity.

By Kaoruko Ishibushi and Louise Matsakis

Money 12 January 2021

The motorbike taxis vs. the unicorns

The resilience of Vietnam’s xe ôm motorbike taxis shows the challenges that Grab and Gojek face in their new frontier market.

By Ashley Lampard

Features 12 January 2021

From Russia with free shipping

Wildberries, the country’s answer to Amazon, is a genuine success. But its corporate backstory involves a lot of mythmaking.

By Irina Pankratova and Howard Amos

Features 21 July 2020

Want to buy a parrot? Please login via Facebook

In Bangladesh, there is no Amazon. There is no eBay. If you want to buy a dress or a crested finch from the comfort of your home, you have to use Facebook.

By Nilesh Christopher