The latest moves by DoorDash Inc. are set to dramatically reshape the global food delivery and restaurant tech landscape, as the San Francisco-based company expands its geographic footprint and doubles down on its ambition to power the broader digital transformation of local commerce.

On CNBC’s “Squawk Box” this week, DoorDash Chief Executive Tony Xu detailed the rationale behind two ambitious deals: the acquisition of a major stake in the U.K.-based food delivery firm Deliveroo and the recent purchase of hospitality tech startup SevenRooms. With these acquisitions, DoorDash is signaling that its vision stretches well beyond simply delivering meals.

Bringing Multi-Product Ambitions to Life

“The aspiration has always been to grow and to empower local economies all over the world,” Mr. Xu said. “DoorDash is a multi-product company now that’s operating on a global scale.” The company’s intent: to provide a full suite of digital tools and services for restaurants and retailers, whether in San Francisco, London, or any other major city.

Pending regulatory approval, the Deliveroo deal will substantially increase DoorDash’s presence across Europe. “Should the deal close, we would then operate in 30 countries across the continent and 45 countries globally,” Mr. Xu emphasized. This stands to put the company in direct competition with dominant operators like Uber Eats and Just Eat Takeaway in markets that have previously been difficult for U.S. players to crack.

Meanwhile, the acquisition of New York-based SevenRooms will add sophisticated white-label marketing, reservations, and customer relationship management capabilities to DoorDash’s commerce platform. Xu explained that by integrating SevenRooms’ technology, DoorDash hopes to give restaurants a “360 view of their customers, regardless of the channels in which they dine with them.”

Deliveroo, SevenRooms, and DoorDash’s Tech Stack

The promise of these two deals lies in their potential for integration, whose details are still being ironed out. Xu described the company’s “best of both” approach: some services and technology will be integrated to leverage scale, while other functions will remain tailored to each market’s unique challenges and opportunities. Despite the move to more robust global operations, localization remains a key priority. “We also want to learn and navigate all of the different local challenges that we see, given that this is a highly local business,” he said.

For DoorDash, SevenRooms is a key part of the company’s continuing march toward offering an end-to-end platform for restaurants: online ordering, delivery, and increasingly, marketing. With DoorDash Drive, for instance, restaurant partners can use white-label delivery; with the company’s “Storefront” product, they have access to white-label online ordering; now, with SevenRooms, they’ll be able to reach their customers with sophisticated marketing tools.

A Changed Competitive Landscape

Asked about DoorDash’s growing rivalry with Uber Eats and others, Xu played down any suggestion that direct competition was the company’s main focus. “The competitor I always put on the board is really rising consumer expectations,” he said. “What we’ve delivered for a customer yesterday probably isn’t good enough for what we will deliver for them today.” While the competitive landscape remains crowded and fierce, Xu’s posture is clear: DoorDash is focused on improving its products and meeting the ever-rising demands of consumers.

This attitude is reflected in the company’s partnerships as well. DoorDash has previously worked with ride-hailing company Lyft on varied initiatives and retains a pragmatic view about further integrations with transport services, as rivals like Uber and Lyft each expand their global ambitions.

Consumer Behavior Holds Up Despite Economic Uncertainty

Despite widespread fears about the U.S. economy and global consumer sentiment, DoorDash’s latest financial performance indicates sustained demand. “We saw record earnings where we saw 20%-plus growth on our top line on a very large base,” Xu noted, adding that consumer order behavior has not meaningfully declined, even amid more negative sentiment in recent months. Growth, he suggested, has come not just from increased frequency among existing users, but from the company’s expansion into adjacent delivery categories and more diverse use cases.

Higher Costs, New Benefits, and the Stakes of Flexibility

Still, DoorDash faces looming questions about costs, especially as it pilots new programs like portable benefits for its fleet of gig workers—termed “Dashers”—in Pennsylvania and other states. “In general, costs go up,” Xu acknowledged, describing the tension between investing in worker protections and maintaining efficiency. “But I would also say … efficiency as well as the ability to produce new features to grow the order behavior in our system, especially as now we are a multi-product company, also grows.”

The gig economy’s regulatory landscape remains uncertain on both sides of the Atlantic, with ongoing court battles and new legislative scrutiny around the classification and benefits for drivers. DoorDash, like Uber and Lyft, is adapting by piloting benefits programs and advocating for hybrid worker models, even as operational expenditures rise.

The Road Ahead

With Deliveroo, DoorDash is betting on scale in Europe; with SevenRooms, it aims for deeper relationships with restaurant partners via data and technology. Through both “organic” development and acquisitions, Xu is positioning DoorDash to compete not only as a delivery platform but as a comprehensive digital ally to local businesses.

The shift toward becoming a global, multi-product platform comes as rivals intensify their own international expansion plans. Lyft recently announced it will look to go international, while Uber pushes deeper into overseas markets and alternative delivery offerings.

“Our focus is squarely on … connecting local customers to local businesses,” Xu told CNBC, reflecting a conviction that DoorDash’s core mission—enabling digital commerce at the city level—remains intact despite the company’s rapidly expanding ambition and capabilities.

As DoorDash integrates its new acquisitions and continues to chase both scale and innovation, the company’s next chapter will test whether its “best of both” approach—global size with local nuance—can propel it into new heights of digital commerce leadership.