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Bike taxi startup Rapido has raised about $180 million in Series D funding round from SoftBank-backed foodtech major Swiggy. The round also saw participation from WestBridge, TVS Motor, Nexus Ventures and Shell Ventures.
The funds would be leveraged to bolster Rapido’s technology and strengthen its teams across diverse sets of capabilities, increase overall supply to create an enhanced consumer experience across a larger audience base in metros, tier -1,- 2, and -3 cities, and ensure seamless last-mile connectivity. Rapido will invest the funds in its three services including bike-taxi, auto and delivery, to enhance its captain earnings and improve customer experience in 100+ cities the company operates in.
Swiggy’s participation in this round will build on the synergies between the two companies and will provide additional earnings for both Swiggy’s delivery executives and Rapido’s captains. Rapido has earlier said that the rapid scaling of quick commerce and hyperlocal delivery has driven Rapido’s expansion into on-demand logistics with Rapido Local and Rapido Store. Swiggy has been doubling down on its quick commerce vertical Swiggy Instamart and has committed $700 million to the vertical in December 2021.
Aravind Sanka, Co-Founder, Rapido, said: “We, at Rapido, are grateful to our existing and new investors for giving impetus to our vision. We look forward to learning from Swiggy’s experience to scale up throughout the country and enhance our captains’ / customers’ experience, who are the backbone of our business. Besides, TVS Motor, who are very passionate about EVs and the future of mobility, will help us in further expansion. We hope to accelerate our pace of becoming a household name as we increase our geographies and services, on the backbone of our robust, global-standard technology.”
Sriharsha Majety, Co-founder and CEO of Swiggy, said: “We hold a lot of respect for the resilience Rapido has displayed in transforming the mobility and logistics space in India. Swiggy and Rapido share a vision to build a logistics platform that empowers riders through more opportunities and higher earnings. While we’ve already been working together, this investment facilitates closer alignment to leverage the synergies between the platforms and improve the value we provide to both consumers and delivery executives/captains across the country.”
In August 2021, Rapido raised $52-million funding round from Shell Ventures, Yamaha, Kunal Shah CRED Founder, Amarjit Singh Batra CEO Spotify India, and Positive Moves Consulting. The round also witnessed continued support from existing investors including Pawan Munjal of Hero Group, Westbridge, Nexus Ventures and Everblue Management.
Rapido was present in around 100 cities across India with over 15 million customers and over 1.5 million captains (driver-partners). Founded by Rishikesh SR, Pavan Guntupalli, and Aravind Sanka in 2015, the company said it has grown more than 2.5x to pre-pandemic levels.
With this round, the company has raised over $130 million in capital from various investors including Westbridge AIF, Nexus Ventures, Sabre Investment, Skycatcher LLC, Bace Fund, Integrated Growth Capital, Yamaha, Kunal Shah (Founder, CRED), Amarjit Singh Batra (CEO, Spotify India), and Positive Moves Consulting, among others.
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