Rapido Vs Swiggy-Zomato, Ola Electric’s Missing Pieces & More

Rapido Enters Swiggy-Zomato Lane

Taking on the Goliaths Zomato and Swiggy, ride-hailing unicorn Rapido is all set to introduce its food delivery platform, Ownly, in partnership with restaurants affiliated with the National Restaurant Association of India (NRAI).

The food delivery experiment came as the company is raising INR 125 Cr from Nexus Venture Partners. It also plans to raise another INR 250 Cr from Dutch investor Prosus.

Restaurants Get A Breather? Unlike the incumbent foodtech giants that are well-known for their steep commissions, Ownly will charge restaurants a fixed delivery fee between INR 10 and INR 25 per order. In total, Rapido’s fixed pricing structure could cost restaurateurs a paltry 10% to 15% of the order value, compared to up to 35% commission levied by Zomato and Swiggy.

What’s In It For Consumers? Ownly has mandated restaurant partners to commit to providing at least four meal options priced below INR 150. A low commission will incentivise food outlets to price their offerings competitively and skip absorbing discounts, which are the norm on Zomato and Swiggy.

Rapido Rivals ONDC: While ONDC was initially seen as an alternative to the foodtech titans, the state-backed network has yet to find its footing and has been facing declining retail order volumes and recent leadership exits.

However, what works for Rapido is its network effect of over 30 Mn monthly transacting users, a delivery fleet and the promise of transparent pricing. So, can ‘Ownly’ break the Zomato-Swiggy duopoly?

From The Editor’s Desk

Ola Electric’s Missing Pieces: The current story of the listed EV major is all about regulatory challenges, dwindling revenues and mounting losses, but Bhavish Aggarwal claims that the company has left these hurdles behind. However, there are many missing pieces in Ola’s recovery plans.

How Tonbo Built An INR 400 Cr Biz? With a sharp focus on an asset-light model and profitability, Tonbo’s USP lies in designing and building all its tech and products in-house. Banking on this, the company’s core revenue crossed INR 400 Cr in FY25. Can it continue the momentum?

Food Safety Violations At Blinkit: The Maharashtra authorities have revoked the food business licence of the quick commerce major’s warehouse in Pune’s Balewadi. This came after an inspection revealed that the dark store lacked the licences to distribute or sell food items.

Wakefit Readies For IPO: The D2C mattress brand has turned into a public entity ahead of its IPO as the company’s board passed a resolution to drop the word “Private” from its name. The brand has already shortlisted bankers to helm its INR 2,000 Cr public listing.

Shein’s India Playbook: The Chinese fast fashion brand is looking to increase the number of Indian suppliers to 1,000 to sell India-made goods in its overseas markets. Currently, it hosts 7,000 Chinese vendors that supply products to 150 locations globally.

Sanlayan Bags INR 186 Cr: The defence tech startup has raised the funds as part of its Series A round led by Ashish Kacholia, Lashit Sanghvi and Jungle Ventures. The startup specialises in advanced electronics systems for the aerospace, defence and space sectors.

Paytm Unveils Personalised UPI IDs: The fintech major said that the new feature enables users to hide their mobile numbers while sending and receiving money. This comes as the listed giant has renewed its focus on core digital payments, with an eye on turning profitable by Q1 FY26.

India To Build Indigenous GPUs: Backed by $200 Mn funding, engineers at C-DAC are developing a 2-nanometre chip, which is slated to be launched by 2030. The move comes as the country is looking to reduce its reliance on US-based chip makers.

Inc42 Startup Spotlight

Can EtherealX Become India’s Answer To SpaceX?

Spacetech companies spend millions of dollars on satellite launches, which are still marred by challenges related to sustainability and space debris. Taking a cue from this, Manu Nair, Shubhayu Sardar and Prashanth Sharma stepped in to address the challenge of sustainable space operations with EtherealX.

Founded in 2022, the spacetech startup is building reusable medium-lift launch vehicles for satellites.

EtherealX’s Reusable Launch Vehicle: With the help of its proprietary tech stack and algorithms built on publicly available data, the Bengaluru-based space tech startup is developing technology that can safely bring the vehicle launcher back to Earth, all while being reusable.

The Way Ahead: The startup is planning to launch its flagship product, Razor Crest Mk-1, by 2027. EtherealX plans to charge anywhere between $350 and $2,000 per kg, based on various configurations. The company already has a $130 Mn order book in place from satellite operators in the US, Japan, and some European countries.

Backed by a funding of $5 Mn and investors like YourNest VC and BlueHill Capital, can EtherealX put India on the global spacetech map?