Rapido has obtained promises of approximately $70 million and is presently pursuing Indian family offices for more support. This funding may increase the company’s valuation to $900 million. In FY23, Rapido recorded a standalone loss of INR 674.5 crore, a 53.6% increase from the INR 439 crore reported in FY22.
Rapido, a ride-hailing service, is poised to receive $100 million (approximately INR 833.9 crore) from its existing backer, WestBridge Capital, and others.
The start-up has already achieved targets exceeding 70 million, with an effort to find extra funding coming from domestic family offices.
The company may now own this cash on its books that might boost its valuation from $600 million to $900 million, according to a source who is close to the situation.
For the funding round, it is estimated that the valuation of the company might reach $900 thousand, which is a considerable increase from its current valuation of $830 million in the month of May 2022 Despite the regulatory hurdles and their objections, the company went well beyond its bicycle-taxi aggregation and now offers ride-sharing services with 3 and 4 wheelers. This financing option would be an instrumental tool to provide the company with the ability to broaden its reach and scale-up its operations.
The team at Inc42 have received a response from Rapido on their latest action.
WestBridge held a leadership position among investors during the company’s Series C investment round in 2021 which culminated in a $43 million raise.
“In (WestBridge) also has previously invested in every stage as well. The will also be to continue supporting us in the future when we are raising funds,” said the co-founder of Rapido, Aravind Sanka.
Rapido is a ride-sharing mobile app app that was developed by Sanka, Rishikesh SR, and Pavan Guntupalli in 2015. Its main line of business is in the operation of the bike taxis and private vehicles services. As the technology became more popular, it started servicing in some cities using cabs. The platform also offers an alternative mode of transportation like peer-to-peer delivery through Rapido Local.
The company claims to have presence in more than hundred Indian cities and having exceeded 25 million downloads on the App. Its fleet has approximately 5 million of such biketaxies and 7 lakhs of auto-rickshaws.
Besides, WestBridge, the company’s other investors includes Swiggy, TVS Motor, Nexus Ventures and Shell Ventures and the likes.
It reported a standalone loss of INR 674.5 crore in the fiscal year 2022-23 (FY23), up 53.6% from the previous fiscal year’s loss of INR 439 crore, hampered by a steep increase in labor costs throughout the time.
Remarkably, the business recently expanded its zero-commission SaaS approach to auto drivers in an attempt to compete with rivals. Rapido previously stated that it is transitioning away from an aggregator-commission-led strategy and toward a lifetime zero-commission approach for its vehicle drivers, with the goal of lowering high commission rates and empowering individuals to determine their profits.
