Two Ultra-Fast New York Delivery Startups Fold In One Week

Fridge No More, a startup that offered fast delivery with no fee regardless of size order, told employees this week that it was shutting down after a deal with a potential buyer fell through, Sara Ashley O'Brien reported for CNN Business.

Photo Insert: Within a week, Fridge No More was no more.

The closure was the second in the span of a week by an ultra-fast delivery service in New York City after failing to secure a deal or financing, leaving hundreds unemployed.

After the pandemic made on-demand delivery startups a lifeline for many Americans, the New York City landscape became crowded with startups offering ultra-fast deliveries.

Fridge No More launched in October 2020, followed by competitors Jokr, Gorillas, and Buyk, which came in September 2021. A month later, Philadelphia-based GoPuff entered the city, followed by Istanbul-based Getir in December.

Fridge No More CEO Pavel Danivol told employees in an email Thursday that a deal with a potential buyer fell through two days earlier and that it could not continue operating.

"This decision was sudden and unforeseeable," Danivol wrote in the email, a copy of which was viewed by CNN Business.

Buyk, which touted 15-minute grocery deliveries in New York City and Chicago with no minimum order or fees, confirmed to CNN Business that its 870 employees were laid off on Friday.

The news comes days after the New York Post reported the startup had furloughed the vast majority of its employees, as well as its CEO, due to challenges over Russia sanctions.

Buyk's Russian founders had been providing bridge financing until the company closed its next financing round, a spokesperson for the company told CNN Business.

WEEKLY FEATURE : MVP Group Keeps Lights On During Pandemic