Bangaluru-based Bike taxi company Rapido is in acquisition talks with Hyderabad-based motorcycle-sharing startup Getbike. The deal will help Rapido enter Hyderabad by leveraging on Getbike’s infrastructure and market presence, reports VCCircle.
According to the report, post-merger, the Getbike wing will continue to focus on the B2B offering, where it has a strong foothold, while Rapido will strengthen the B2C business.
Getbike, formerly known as Getmi was launched in September 2016 by Shravya Reddy, who previously worked with Reliance Communications Ltd and Apalya Technologies.
In just three months of its incorporation, the startup had raised $100,000 in angel funding from a group of investors including Vamshi Reddy B, an angel investor and co-founder of Apalya Technologies, and investor Venu Veeramaneni.
It offers services to a number of clients from industries such as pharmaceuticals, food and e-commerce. It has tied up with hospital chain Apollo Healthcare, online marketing platform Limetray and L&T Metro Rail (Hyderabad) Ltd, among others.
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Started by Aravind Sanka, Rishikesh SR and Pavan Guntupalli in November 2015, Rapido is backed by Google India managing director Rajan Anandan and Hero MotoCorp chairman Pawan Munjal. It operates in Bangalore and Delhi.
In India, bike taxis are finding it tough to operate. Most of the players in major markets like Bengaluru and Gurugram, that started over the past few years, have shut down.
While only a few states provide for commercial bike-taxi licenses, the lack of clarity on regulations is not the only reason for these failures.
The poorly funded local players have not been able to match the heavy subsidies to customers and drivers by players like Uber and Ola, which makes them unattractive to both segments.
Uber has been pumping in huge amount to push the service in the Indian market. Recently, it infused about Rs 52 crore into its India business.
Ola, Uber’s larger rival in India, has also launched its bike-taxi service and is present in 11 cities, including Mohali, Ludhiana, Amritsar and Hyderabad. Last month, it raised $36 million from a private equity firm Tekne Capital.
Rapido: Website
