The Buyk

About The Buyk

Buyk was a real-time retail service that provided grocery and essential item delivery within 15 minutes. The company was founded in 2021 by Slava Bocharov and Rodion Shishkov, who had previously co-founded Samokat, a similar successful service in Russia.

Buyk's business model was centered around a network of strategically located "dark stores," which were small, delivery-only warehouses stocked with 2,000 to 3,000 items. These stores, combined with a proprietary, multi-million dollar software system that utilized artificial intelligence, aimed to streamline the entire shopping and delivery process. The technology also provided detailed hyperlocal data to ensure each dark store was stocked according to the specific needs of consumers in that area. Customers would place orders through the Buyk mobile app, and the system was designed to have the items delivered to their doorstep in 15 minutes or less.

The company's primary market was urban consumers in major cities, starting with New York City and Chicago, who valued convenience and time-saving solutions. Buyk's mission was to give people back their time by eliminating the need for traditional grocery shopping. However, the company ceased operations abruptly in March 2022. The shutdown was a direct result of the economic sanctions imposed on Russia following its invasion of Ukraine, which severed the company's access to its primary funding from its Russian founders.