Gorilla Warfare in Europe’s Startup Scene

This spring, Kağan Sümer began raising capital for his hot new European instant-delivery startup, Gorillas, at a multibillion dollar valuation. Then investors began to buzz over rumors of past drug use by the executive. Sümer tells The Information his side of the story.

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Gorillas CEO Kağan Sümer. Photo provided by Gorillas

Last year, Kağan Sümer blasted out of nowhere with a startup called Gorillas that had an audacious vision: to kill the grocery store. The Berlin-based grocery-delivery company surpassed a $1 billion valuation a year after it was founded, a nearly unheard-of rate of ascent for a startup in Europe, where a string of other scrappy delivery startups has formed in its wake.

But as Sümer went back to investors to refill Gorillas’ coffers with fresh funding in recent months, something unusual happened. Rumors began circulating that he had been pushed out of past jobs for drug use. The allegations were part of what people in Sümer’s camp view as a coordinated smear campaign intended to derail one of Europe’s hottest startups.