Amazon Renews Efforts to Enter Europe’s Food Sector With a Big Stake in U.K. Meal Courier Deliveroo

Deliveroo announced on Friday that Amazon is the largest investor in the U.K.-based meal delivery company’s latest round of funding.

Although the specific amount was not disclosed, the funding round totaled $575 million, according to a Deliveroo statement. This brings the company’s total fundraising to $1.53 billion.

According to Bloomberg, the move signals Amazon’s intention to redouble efforts to enter the European food and grocery sector.

The announcement comes just a week after Deliveroo rival Uber Eats listed on the New York Stock Exchange.

Amazon started its own delivery service, Amazon Restaurants U.K., in 2016, but closed it down two years later, according to the BBC.

“They [Amazon] weren’t able to compete within the market so they’ve gone for the buying option instead,” Louise Dudley, fund manager at investment firm Hermes, told the BBC’s Today program.

Read More: Amazon Offers to Pay Employees $10,000 to Quit Their Jobs and Deliver Packages Instead

Deliveroo says that the new financing will be used to expand its U.K. tech team and its operations to reach more customers, and to invest into delivery-only kitchens.

It adds it will also use the money to “create more flexible, well-paid work for riders.” Last year, a group of Deliveroo drivers, who are not employees but are paid per delivery, won a settlement claiming that they had been denied holiday and minimum wages, the BBC says.

Responding to Amazon’s stake, Will Shu, founder and CEO of Deliveroo, said in a statement that the company looked forward “to working with such a customer-obsessed organization.”

Deliveroo, which was founded in 2013, is headquartered in London. It operates in 14 countries, including Australia, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Singapore, and the United Kingdom.