India’s Rapido becomes a unicorn with fresh $120M funding

Bike-taxi startup Rapido is the latest Indian startup to become a unicorn, meaning it reached $1 billion in valuation. The 8-year-old firm has raised $120 million in a new funding round led by WestBridge Capital, according to a regulatory filing.

The new capital, a Series E infusion, underscores Rapido’s growing prominence in India’s mobility sector where it has emerged as a formidable challenger to the long-standing duopoly of Uber and Ola. It is simultaneously also helping Swiggy’s competitive stance against rival Zomato in the fiercely contested food-delivery market.

Swiggy led Rapido’s last round in April 2022, which valued the mobility startup at $800 million. Rapido has raised about $430 million to date.

Rapido’s focus on two-wheeler transportation, instead of cabs, has allowed it to navigate the challenges that have hindered the growth of traditional cab-hailing services in India, capitalizing on the widespread use of motorcycles and scooters in the country’s congested urban centers.

Rapido didn’t respond to a request for comment.

In Rapido, Swiggy has found a delivery partner that is helping it serve the growing food delivery orders in the country. Rapido is able to provide its drivers more work opportunity through its tie-up with Swiggy, according to an investor of Rapido, who requested anonymity discussing strategy. Swiggy eventually plans to increase its stake in Rapido, according to a person familiar with the situation, but not before the IPO.

Rapido also engaged with Khazanah, Malaysia’s sovereign wealth fund, for funding in the current round, TechCrunch previously reported.

Swiggy has filed for an initial public offering, seeking to raise $1.25 billion from the event.

Rapido is the third Indian startup to become a unicorn this year after fintech Perfios and AI upstart Krutrim.