Rapido joins the unicorn club with a $120 million funding round

The bike taxi service startup Rapido, which Swiggy supports, has achieved unicorn status following a $120 million Series E funding round. The round was spearheaded by Rapido’s primary investor, WestBridge Capital, which contributed funds through three separate investment entities. A company is considered a unicorn when it’s a privately-held startup valued at $1 billion or more.

The board at Rapido has passed a special resolution to allot 10 equity shares, 95,479 Series E, and 95,489 Series E1 compulsory convertible preferred shares (CCPS) at an issue price of Rs 52,467 per share for a consideration of Rs 1,002 crore or $120 million, according to an Entrackr report, which has quoted the company’s regulatory filings with the Registrar of Companies.

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Investment Details

WestBridge has invested the capital via Setu AIF Trust, Konark Trust, and MMPL Trust, according to the filings. Entrackr estimates that the company raised the funding at a post-money valuation of Rs 8,517 crore or a little over $1 billion.

In April 2022, Rapido had raised $180 million in its latest Series D round. Led by new investor Swiggy, the round also saw investment from TVS Motor Company, along with existing investors, WestBridge, Shell Ventures, and Nexus Ventures, partaking in the fundraise. The company’s valuation after the fundraise was $830 million.

Founded in 2015 by Aravind Sanka, Pavan Guntupalli, and SR Rishikesh, Rapido is an aggregator platform that provides bike-taxi and auto services in over 100 cities across India.

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Swiggy, Holding 15.1% Stake in Rapido

Food delivery firm Swiggy, which owns 15.1 per cent in the firm, has not participated in the new round. Bengaluru-based Swiggy has confidentially filed initial public offering (IPO) papers for Rs 10,400 crore (approximately $1.25 billion) and is likely to go public in a few weeks, according to sources.

Last year in December, Rapido, known for its budget-friendly bike-taxi services, announced its entry into the cab market, which is currently dominated by marquee brands Uber and Ola. Rapido’s cab foray is being enabled by a software as a service (SaaS)-based platform. BluSmart and InDrive are among the other names in the cab aggregator space.