Former Amazon exec quietly building $1 billion Instacart ad business

But what sets it apart from DoorDash and other delivery platforms is how well Instacart's offering suits high-value advertising, insiders, investors, and industry experts say.There's a public listing in the works, and the ad business is likely to be a key part of Instacart's pitch to investors who will be asked to back a company that's already valued at almost $40 billion.Instacart Chief Revenue Officer Seth Dallaire oversees this unit and has a penchant for operating at grand scale. The business has caught on with brands trying to get in front of customers they'd otherwise reach through in-store promotions or grocery-store circulars.One industry executive familiar with Instacart's business said the company could do close to $1 billion a year in ad revenue by 2022.Ads will be key to Instacart's long-term profitability and international expansion — and the business differentiates the company from other gig-economy services such as Uber and DoorDash. Digital-ad spending on consumer packaged goods is expected to jump 16% to $23 billion in the US this year, according to eMarketer.Instacart often pitches its ads to marketers as a digital version of a circular, the paper magazines from grocery stores that let customers know which products are on sale.