Bengaluru-based mobility startup Rapido, which recently raised $200 million and became the latest entrant into the unicorn club with a valuation of $1.1 billion, is just a few months away from becoming cash-flow positive, co-founder and CEO Aravind Sanka told FE. “We are very close to profitability. In a couple of months, we will be cash-flow positive,” Sanka said.
Rapido now claims to have a network of 1.7 million active monthly driver-partners, who on an average facilitate close to 2.5 million orders per day across all vehicle categories, including bikes, auto-rickshaws and four-wheeler cabs.
“If I just take two-wheeler and three-wheeler, we are way ahead of Ola and Uber,” Sanka said, pegging Rapido’s market share at over 40% when considering all ride types.
In FY23, Rapido posted a revenue of Rs 497.5 crore, up from Rs 157.9 crore in FY22. However, losses also surged from Rs 439 crore to Rs 674.6 crore during the same period, as the company invested heavily in growth and expansion.
Rapido’s zero-commission model for drivers remains a key differentiator. “We will never come back to commission. We are going to be a lifetime zero-commission model,” Sanka said.
The company charges drivers a flat monthly fee of Rs 500 for every Rs 10,000 earned through the platform. “I will not be surprised if we never change that price,” he added.
Looking ahead, Rapido is eyeing the burgeoning quick commerce space as a key growth driver. While it currently powers last-mile food delivery for investor Swiggy, which participated in its $180-million Series D round, as well as ONDC, where Rapido riders had the option to fulfil food delivery orders during off-peak hours, — the company is now in advanced talks with multiple quick commerce players, including Zepto and Zomato’s Blinkit to enable 10-30 minute deliveries.
“We think the 10-minute or 30-minute to 1-hour delivery model for quick commerce is a perfect fit, given the number of supply we have on the ground,” Sanka explained.
Rapido is also building tools to allow small D2C (direct-to-consumer) businesses to directly leverage its massive fleet of delivery partners. “We are definitely agnostic to all the players. It doesn’t matter, given if supply is getting utilised, that’s what we want. We will be integrating with logistics aggregators. We will be integrating directly with companies as well,” he said.
On the sustainability front, Rapido claims to have made significant strides in vehicle electrification. Over 25% of orders in the NCR region are now fulfilled by electric vehicles, with plans to make Delhi 100% electric within the next six months, Sanka said. The company is actively partnering with fleet operators to on-board exclusive electric fleets across two-wheelers, three-wheelers, and four-wheeler segments.
As Rapido enters a new phase of growth, an initial public offering (IPO) remains on the cards in the medium term. “Maybe in two years or three years, it’s something we would definitely consider as a natural progression,” Sanka said, pointing to Rapido’s mature stage and imminent profitability as key enablers for going public.
With the company’s latest $200-million Series E funding round, it has now raised close to $500 million in all. The latest round was led by WestBridge Capital with participation from existing investor Nexus Venture Partners and newcomers Think Investments and Invus Opportunities.
According to Tracxn, as of FY23, WestBridge Capital held a 25.6% stake in Rapido’s parent entity, Roppen Transportation Services. Swiggy held 15.1%, while Nexus Venture Partners and Integrated Capital held 9.7% and 4.9% stakes, respectively. Co-founders Pavan Guntupalli, Rishikesh SR and Aravind Sanka collectively held 7.5% as of FY23.
