Mobility start-up Rapido has joined the unicorn club with its latest fundraise. The firm raised $120 million in a round led by WestBridge Capital, valuing the company at $1 billion. This was first reported by TechCrunch.
After Krutrim AI and Perfios, this is the third unicorn in the country this year. The company might be raising another $20 million from its global investors, as per the Economic Times. A UK based fund and a US based family office are reportedly in talks to pick up stakes in the company.
The last fundraise of the company was in 2022 where it was valued at around $800 million. The $180 million financing round was led by Swiggy. After the 2022 investment round, Sriharsha Majety, co-founder and chief executive of Swiggy said as per TechCrunch, “We hold a lot of respect for the resilience Rapido has displayed in transforming the mobility and logistics space in India.”
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Majety further said, “While we’ve already been working together, this investment facilitates closer alignment to leverage the synergies between the platforms and improve the value we provide to both consumers and delivery executives/captains across the country.”
While Swiggy has been an active investor in Rapido and uses Rapido services for delivery purposes, its current focus is on the company’s IPO. After that, it might increase its stake in Rapido. The food delivery giant has filed for its IPO with the Securities and Exchange Board of India, SEBI.
Recently, Rapido introduced subscription-based models similar to Namma Yatri. Additionally, the platform has reportedly cut its monthly expenses to around $2-3 million and is expected to achieve operational profitability by the end of FY25. Speaking to the Economic Times, a source said, “Rapido is planning to add several high-margin revenue streams including in-app advertisements…and value-added services for its driver partners.”
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