Rapido raises Rs 52 Cr Series A round led by Integrated Capital Growth

Bike taxi segment has witnessed many casualties as a majority of startups operating in the segment failed to rise beyond seed or pre-Series A round. About half a dozen of them alone died in Delhi (NCR). However, Rapido has sustained the bloodbath.

The Hyderabad-based bike taxi-hailing app has raised Rs 52.67 crore led by Integrated Capital Growth, Astarc Ventures, Ka Wing Kevin Kwong, India Technology Fund, Motherson Lease Solutions including 20 High Networth Individuals (HNIs).

Rapido co-founder and CEO Aravind Sanka has confirmed the fundraise to Entrackr.

While Integrated Capital Growth infused Rs 32.07 crore, US-based Rapido Holding LLC (looks like holding company of Indian entity) invested Rs 11.46 crore, as per filings with MCA. Rest of the amount has come from the aforementioned investors.

Previously, the firm had raised a pre-Series A round from angels such as Rajan Anandan, Pawan Munjal (Chairman of Hero MotoCorp), Anupam Mittal, Harish Bahl, Ankit Nagori. In November 2017, it secured a bridge round from US-based Skycatcher Fund and UK-based Thompson Taraz Managers.

Rapido offers bike-taxing service over 25 cities including Delhi (NCR), Bengaluru, Hyderabad, and Chennai. Importantly, it’s also operational in tier II cities such as Patna, Vijayawada, and Trichy.

According to RoC filings, Rapido has recorded a revenue of Rs 79.91 lakh with a net loss of Rs 10.35 crore in FY18. It has incurred an expense of Rs 11.15 crore.

Launched in November 2015, Rapido currently claims to execute 70,000 rides every day with an average ticket size of Rs 50.

Industry estimates suggest that India has more than 120 million two-wheelers. About 40 million two-wheelers’ owners are either unemployed or underemployed. Rapido aspires to use the existing vehicles and create full time as well as part-time employment for them.

Given that the first and last mile, personal transport is a major challenge in Indian metros as well as smaller cities, the prospect of bike taxi seems bright. Meanwhile, bike taxi segment includes deep-pocketed competitor like Uber MOTO, Ola Bike and Dunzo. The bigger question for Rapido -Will it keep up its fight against these players?

Hat tip: paper.vc