Rapido raises $200 Mn in Series E at $1.1 Bn valuation

Ride-hailing app Rapido has secured $200 million in its Series E funding round, led by WestBridge Capital. The round also saw participation from Think Investments, Nexus Venture Partners, and Invus Group.

While WestBridge alone invested $120 million, the remaining capital came from the other three investors. With this, the Bengaluru-based firm has reached a valuation of $1.1 billion. Entrackr had decoded the investment by WestBride in Rapido last month.

The funds will be utilised to expand four-wheeler ride hailing services, as per the company. It launched cab services in December 2023. This will also boost it to compete with giants like Ola and Uber in India.

Rapido co-founder Aravind Sanka confirmed the development to Entrackr.

As per Rapido’s internal documents reviewed by Entrackr, the firm left Ola behind and became the number two player after Uber in the overall ride-hailing space including bike, auto, and cabs. As of March 2024, Uber processed 19.3 lakh rides on a daily basis while Rapido did 16.5 lakh rides a day followed by Ola which did 13 lakh rides.

Rapido claims that autorickshaws contribute 40% to its GMV, while bikes and cabs each contribute 30%. In terms of the number of rides, bike taxis alone account for more than 50%.

As of last month, WestBridge was the largest external stakeholder with 32.88%, followed by Swiggy and Nexus Ventures, which own 12.32% and 8.19%, respectively. The shareholding pattern will vary after further investments from Think Investments, Nexus, and Invus Group.

Rapido’s operating revenue surged 3X to Rs 443 crore during FY23. The steep growth in scale also caused a 54% spike in losses which stood at Rs 675 crore in FY23. The firm is yet to disclose FY24 numbers.