Delivery apps, gig economy companies crushed by tech stock crash, recession fears

The boom continued for over a decade, culminating in a dizzying array of "instant grocery" startups — Gorillas, Zapp, Getir, Weezy, Jiffy, Gopuff, Yango Deli, Buyk, Fridge No More, Jokr, Voly, Market Kurly, and Instacart — that seized on the disruption of the pandemic to raise a combined $14 billion.Although they provide a wide array of services, these gig economy companies generally share a dubious connection to profitability. Put simply, gig and delivery companies like Uber require regular infusions of cash from the public in order to remain in business. Having been stung by the market downturn in these technology companies, hedge funds and private equity companies appear increasingly unwilling to finance the money-losing operations of the gig economy.The most recent batch of gig companies and uber-fast delivery startups are facing the same struggles. And the Biden administration has suggested it will take up this fight nationwide.For years economic growth and low interest rates allowed gig economy companies to balloon into household names, stock market behemoths, and major employers without ever becoming viable businesses. Now that the economy, market, and regulatory tides have turned against them, gig economy companies are being forced to wage — and likely lose — existential war in defense of their clearly unsustainable business models.