Rapido to Enter the Burgeoning Quick Commerce Sector

Rapido, the ride-hailing platform, is set to foray into India's booming quick commerce sector. This is as per a report by Inc42.

The development comes at a time when there is a tug-of-war brewing in India's quick commerce turf with major players like Blinkit, Swiggy Instamart and Filpkart's newly launched 'Minutes'.

It is also a time when e-commerce companies have started making their way into the quick commerce race to tap its market potential.

The Bengaluru-based Rapido is in talks with Zepto, along with grocers like Pincode and KPN to strengthen its quick commerce vertical, as per TOI.

Zepto's founder and chief executive Aadit Palicha reportedly said that the company maintains control over more than 90 per cent of its delivery feet internally.

As per the Inc42 query, a Zepto spokesperson said that these developments are based on market speculations and holds no value.

To put things more into context, Rapido reportedly works with only two players on its B2B logistics arm, which is confined to food delivery that is Swiggy and the government-run Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC).

Ola, one of its rivals, is also looking to enter the quick commerce space posing a challenge to the likes of Instamart, Blinkit, and Zepto.

Rapido entered the Unicorn club after raising Rs 1,660 crore in its series E funding led by existing investors such as WestBridge Capital taking its valuation to $ 1.1 billion. Nexus Venture Partners, the existing backer along with new investors Think Investments and New York-based Invus Opportunities participated in the round.

Rapido offers its services in over 100 cities across the country which also includes peer-to-peer delivery services through Rapido Local. The company reportedly operates a fleet of 700,00 riders.

Rapido reportedly takes 2.5 million orders per day, which encompasses taxis, autos as well as cab rides, its co-founder Aravind Sanka said.