Ride-hailing platform, Rapido has become the latest unicorn by raising $120 million (around Rs 1,000 crore) in primary capital from its existing investor, WestBridge Capital, at a post-money valuation of $1 billion. The company was last valued at $825 million after its $180 million funding in April 2022.
The startup has thus become the fourth unicorn this calendar year after Perfios, Ola’s Gen AI platform, Krutrim, and Porter. In 2023, there were only two unicorns, Zepto and InCred Finance.
According to sources, Rapido is likely to raise another $20 million from global investors.
An email sent to Rapido did not elicit response till the time of going to the press.
Founded in 2015 by Arvind Sanka, Pavan G, and Rishikesh SR, Rapido has over time expanded its services beyond bike taxis to include auto-rickshaws and cab-hailing. The company has introduced subscription-based models for auto-rickshaw, and cab drivers, moving away from per-transaction commissions to compete with platforms like Juspay and Google-backed Namma Yatri.
Rapido’s total funding now stands at $329 million, with previous investors including Swiggy, Nexus Venture Partners, and Integrated Capital. Notably, Swiggy has not participated in this latest funding round.
The company posted a revenue of Rs 497.5 crore in FY23, up from Rs 157.9 crore in FY22. However, its losses shot up from Rs 439 crore in FY22, to Rs 674.6 crore in FY23.
According to Tracxn, Westbridge capital held a 25.6% stake in Rapido’s parent entity, Roppen Transportation Services, at the end of FY23. Swiggy, as of then, held 15.1%, while Nexus Venture Partners, and Integrated Capital held 9.7%, and 4.9%, respectively. Co-founders Pavan Guntupalli, Rishikesh SR and Aravind Sanka, collectively held 7.5%.
