Instacart on Thursday said it secured $200 million as part of a new financing round that values the grocery delivery company at $17.7 billion.

What Happened: Existing Instacart investors Valiant Peregrine Fund and D1 Capital Partners led the new financing round and comes at a time when the company is experiencing heightened demand amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

Instacart's platform is available at nearly 40,000 stores across the U.S. and Canada. The app is available to more than 85% of U.S. households and more than 70% of Canadian households.

Related Link: Walmart Partners With Instacart For Same-Day Grocery Delivery In US

The new capital will be used to expand new features and tools to enhance the customer experience along with continued investments in Instacart Enterprise and in Instacart Ads to help connect Consumer Packaged Goods brands to customers shopping online.

"We are excited to increase our investment in Instacart as the company further establishes itself as a leader in the massive North American online grocery space," Danny Karubian, Partner of Valiant Peregrine Fund said in the press release.

Why It's Important: The pandemic has permanently changed the way people shop for groceries and Instacart's role transitioned from "convenience to a lifeline for millions of people," the company said in a blog post.

What's Next: Instacart remains focused on building "the absolute best online grocery shopping experience" by leveraging partnerships with retailers to offer more goods and value to customers across North America, the company said.