你可以憑借一群穿梭在車流中、帶著炸玉米餅的騎手，建立一家市值數十億美元的公司嗎？硅谷的答案是當然可以。由算法和風投資本推動下的新一批快遞公司的崛起，讓人們比以往更容易在家中享受到熱氣騰騰的美餐（或其他東西）了。

2017年摩根士丹利（Morgan Stanley）的一份預測認為，到2020年，餐廳總銷售額可能有40%都來自送餐業務。而就科技和物流效率的關注程度而言，這項業務還處于初期階段。Cowen & Co.公司的分析師托馬斯·錢皮恩表示：“該領域的創新空間可能比乍看之下還要更廣闊?！?/p>

快遞領域的競爭者很多，亞馬遜（Amazon）、GrubHub和即將上市的Uber從收入和市場份額來說都屬于巨頭。不過舊金山的兩家私有公司DoorDash和Postmates卻建立了激烈的競爭關系，以至于有時看起來他們已經專注于彼此爭斗而忽視了業內的其他競爭對手。

今年3月，DoorDash宣布將在今年內進行5.35億美元的投資，并在1,000座新城市開拓業務。今年7月，Postmates在超過100座城市開展了服務；第二周，DoorDash的首席執行官托尼·徐就宣布還要擴大100座城市的業務。今年8月，DoorDash宣布了新一輪2.5億美元的融資；第二周，Postmates的首席執行官巴斯蒂安·萊曼就以3億美元融資進行回應，還談到了首次公開募股。

今年4月曾有報道稱兩位首席執行官已經有過合并的討論，但最終卻沒有實現。如今，兩家公司都認為自身是市場領導者，盡管他們對于市場的定義卻不一樣。DoorDash專注于送餐業務，也在考慮更多選擇，而Postmates什么都送，只是把重點放在送餐上。兩家公司都對互相比較熱情不大。

誰將贏得下一輪對決？答案部分取決于與國內連鎖店保持高利潤的獨家合作伙伴關系。由于手握Wendy’s和Cheesecake Factory的合作，DoorDash似乎占得了上風。徐對《財富》雜志表示：“DoorDash如今是該領域里增長最快的公司”，他指的是支付量上。

不過，曾當過拳擊手的萊曼于今年9月在CNBC上表示：“任何時候跑得最快的那輛賽車都未必是最后比賽的贏家。”

做好大干一場的準備吧。（財富中文網）

本文的另一個版本登載于2018年12月1日刊的《財富》雜志，標題為“快遞公司的拳擊賽已經拉開帷幕”。

譯者：嚴匡正

Can you build a billion-dollar business on the backs of cyclists weaving through traffic with tacos in tow? According to Silicon Valley, absolutely. The rise of a new breed of delivery company, fueled by algorithms and venture capital, is making it easier than ever to get a hot meal (or anything else) brought to your door.

Direct delivery of food could devour 40% of total restaurant sales, or $220 billion, by 2020, according to a 2017 Morgan Stanley estimate. And it’s still early days as far as technology and logistical efficiency are concerned. “There may be room for more innovation than appears at first blush,” says Cowen & Co. analyst Thomas Champion.

The list of delivery contenders is long, and several—like Amazon, GrubHub, and IPO-bound Uber—are large, as measured by both revenue and market share. But two private companies in San Francisco, DoorDash and Postmates, have established a rivalry so intense that it sometimes seems they’re ignoring the rest of the field as they exchange blows.

In March, DoorDash announced a $535 million investment and vowed support for 1,000 new cities by year’s end. In July, Postmates activated service in more than 100 cities; the next week, DoorDash CEO Tony Xu promised hundreds more. In August, DoorDash announced another $250 million fundraising; the following month, Postmates CEO Bastian Lehmann bounced back with $300 million of his own and talk of an IPO.

In April the CEOs were reported to have engaged in merger discussions, but it didn’t come to pass. Today both consider themselves to be market leaders, though they disagree on the definition of the market. DoorDash is focused on food but mulling more options; Postmates will deliver anything but emphasizes food. Neither is keen on comparisons to the other.

Who will win the next round of this bout? The answer in part depends on securing lucrative exclusive partnerships with national chains. With Wendy’s and the Cheesecake Factory in its corner, DoorDash appears to have the upper hand. “DoorDash is now the fastest-growing company in this space,” Xu tells Fortune, pointing to its payments volume.

Still, “the fastest car at any moment in time may not win the race,” Lehmann, ever the pugilist, said on CNBC in September.

Get ready to rumble.

A version of this article appears in the December 1, 2018 issue of Fortune with the headline “Punches, Delivered.”