Rapido is a mobility startup that secured$120 million in its series E funding round led by WestBridge Capital. Westbridge is the existing and biggest investor who invested money through three different investment vehicles. The startup joined the unicorn club after this funding round. According to the filings, WestBridge invested through Konark Trust, Setu AIF Trust, and MMPL Trust.
The board has approved a special resolution to allot 95,479 Series E CCPs, 10 equity shares, and 98489 Series E1 compulsory convertible Preferred Shares at an issue price of Rs 52,476 each to raise 120 million USD. According to the company filing, the startup will use these fresh proceeds to scale its operations, meet working capital purposes, and expand the market. The startup offers ride services, including auto-rickshaws and bike taxi rides. The company operates in more than 100 cities across India.
Rapido is an online platform and mobile application that allows users to book rides by providing their details, location, and payment details. The platform uses various technologies to offer its customers a seamless experience and secure transactions. This investment shows WestBridge Capital’s trust in Rapido’s market potential and business model.
The startup claims to have more than 25 million app downloads and provided over 100 million rides. After this round, the existing investor WestBrdge Capital holds the largest stake at 26 percent, followed by Swiggy, who owns a 15 percent stake in the company. Even though Swiggy has the second-largest stake in the firm, it did not invest in this new round as it filed for an IPO with DRHP. Rapido previously secured $180 million in its Series D funding round. During its last funding round, the startup data intelligence platform, kredible, predicted the company’s valuation to be around 850 million USD.
The company has raised around $300 million across multiple funding rounds since its inception. The mobility startup announced its operating revenue increase by 3 times to Rs 443 crore in FY23. However, the losses spiked by 54 % to Rs 675 crore in the same duration. Entrackr reported that the internal documents of Rapido mentioned processing 16.5 lakh rides per day. Earlier this year, Perfios and Krutrim SI designs achieved unicorn status. Rapido raised the funding round at a post-money valuation of 1 billion USD.
Conclusion
Rapido is a ride-hailing service offering mobility startup that turned unicorn. The startup got fresh capital of $120 million from WestBridge Capital in its series E funding round. The company plans to use this amount to scale up its services and general meeting purposes, expand to the global market, and advance its technology. After this round, the existing investor, WestBridge Capital, holds the largest external stake with 26 percent. The company’s board approved the resolution to allot 98489 Series E1 CCPS, 10 equity shares, and 95,479 Series E CCPs at an issue price of Rs 52,476 per share each to raise 120 million USD.
