[Update] Exclusive: Bike Taxi Startup Rapido Raises $180 Mn From Foodtech Giant Swiggy, TVS Motor

Update| 18th April, 10:38 AM

After Inc42 reported on Rapido’s funding round led by Swiggy, the bike taxi startup later confirmed the development. The startup had raised $180 Mn led by Swiggy in participation from TVS Motors, WestBridge Capital, Nexus Ventures, and Shell Ventures.

Original Story | Published On 14th April, 10:50 PM

Bengaluru-based bike taxi startup Rapido has raised around $177.5 Mn in a funding round led by food delivery aggregator Swiggy. The round also saw participation from another new investor TVS Motors. Apart from them, Rapido’s existing investors – WestBridge Capital, Nexus Ventures, Shell Ventures – also infused capital in the round. 

The development comes almost a couple of months after media reports said that Swiggy was in talks to lead Rapido’s funding round. As per sources, the round values Rapido at $830 Mn. 

While Swiggy infused $124.6 Mn in the round in exchange for 1,99,948 Series D CCPS and 10 equity shares, TVS Motors pumped in $15 Mn. WestBridge Capital invested $30 Mn, while the remaining amount was infused by Nexus Ventures. Inc42’s calculation further suggests that with this investment, Swiggy is likely to hold a 15% stake in Rapido. Swiggy currently holds 1,99,958 shares (including equity shares & preference shares) of the startup. 

It must be noted that the round size can further increase to add other existing investors or a debt element to it. 

The fresh round of funding came almost eight months after the startup raised $52 Mn in its Series C round. Back then, the round saw participation from Shell Ventures, Kunal Shah, Pawan Munjal, Nexus Ventures, Everblue Management, among others. 

Founded in 2015 by Rishikesh SR, Pavan Guntupalli, and Aravind Sanka, Rapido claims to have a presence in more than 100 Indian cities with more than 15 Mn customers and 25 Mn app downloads till date. The startup offers bike taxi, auto services and peer-to-peer delivery service for essentials, such as food and medicines, through Rapido Local.

Rapido was one of the startups that was severely affected by the pandemic, as prolonged lockdown prevented stepping outside. This resulted in Rapido pivoting to delivering essential products, such as grocery and dairy products. 

Rapido, which initially used to dominate the bike taxi space in the country, now faces challenges from Ola and Uber as they have also forayed into bike taxis. 

The startup generated a total income of INR 87.9 Cr in FY21, a 54.4% jump from INR 56.9 Cr in FY20. While revenue from operations climbed to INR 75.6 Cr in FY21, the startup managed to reduce its expenses to INR 254 Cr in FY21 from INR 301 Cr in FY20.

Rapido further narrowed its loss to INR 166.3 Cr in FY21 from INR 244 Cr in FY20.