Separator

Rapido becomes 'Unicorn' by achieving $120 million in Series E Funding round!

Separator
Swiggy-supported mobility Startup Rapido has turned unicorn with a $120 million Series E Funding round directed by its biggest financial backer WestBridge Capital which has siphoned in money through three diverse investment vehicles.

According to Rapido’s regulatory filings with the Registrar of Companies, the board of directors has approved a special resolution to issue 10 equity shares, 95,479 Series E compulsory convertible preferred shares (CCPS), and 95,489 Series E1 CCPS at an issue price of Rs 52,467 per share for a consideration of Rs.1,002 crore, or $120 million.

WestBridge has invested the sum by means of Setu AIF Trust, Konark Trust, and MMPL Trust, as per the filings.

As indicated by Entrackr’s evaluations, the organization raised the financing at a post-cash valuation of Rs.8, 517 crore or somewhat more than $1 billion.

Rapido had brought $180 million up in Series D Funding round in April 2022. As per startup information insight platform TheKredible, the start-up was last esteemed at around $850 million. At this point, it has raised a sum of more than $300 million across a few financing adjusts. Westbridge is the biggest partner in Rapido with 26% stake.

It’s important to note that Swiggy, which owns more than 15% of the business, did not participate in the new round because it had already submitted a DRHP for a possible IPO. Perfios, Krutrim SI Designs, and lending company Moneyview are all set to raise a new round at unicorn valuations, respectively.

Rapido additionally professed to have left Ola and turned into the number two player after Uber in the ride hailing down space (bicycle, auto and taxis).

As of March 2024, Uber handled 19.3 lakh rides consistently while Rapido did 16.5 lakh rides a day and Ola was at 13 lakh rides.

The SaaS platform (zero commission model) by Rapido alongside cash backs and IPL spending seems to have been taking care of well for the organization. According to its records, Rapido has arisen as a forerunner in the bicycle taxi landscape in the country while it overwhelms the southern piece of the country in the auto-hailing section.

Rapido did not respond to any questions that were posed. Although Rapido has yet to release its FY24 financials, the company’s operating revenue increased by threefold to Rs.443 crore in FY23. In FY23, losses increased by 54% to Rs.675 crore due to the rapid expansion in scale.