Instacart to turn Toronto office into tech hub

Instacart says it will transform its Toronto office into a tech hub and expand it by 200 employees over the next several years.

The California-based company says the Canadian location will be the second one to focus on research and development, with the first in San Francisco.

READ: The Instacart effect

The online grocery app company already has more than 80 employees at its current Toronto office.

Instacart's chief business officer Nilam Ganenthiran says the new office will open sometime in 2019 and the company has already started hiring for the new positions.

Instacart is one of several grocery-delivery companies Canada's grocers have partnered with to ramp up their e-commerce offerings after Amazon upped the pressure on the industry by acquiring Whole Foods Market.

Late last year, Instacart started working with Loblaw on home delivery at its Loblaws, Real Canadian Superstore and T&T banners in Toronto and Vancouver.

And, Walmart Canada recently announced it partnered with Instacart for a one-hour grocery delivery pilot in Toronto and Winnipeg.