Swiggy leads $180 mn round in Rapido; TVS joins as new investor
Premium- The Rapido deal highlights renewed investor interest in India’s mobility space after a temporary pause due to the covid-induced turbulence
BENGALURU : Roppen Transportation Services Pvt. Ltd, the operator of bike taxi app Rapido, secured $180 million in a Series D funding round led by food delivery company Swiggy, according to a VCCircle analysis based on regulatory filings.
The round also saw two-wheeler maker TVS Motor Co. Ltd joining as a new investor, with existing backers WestBridge Capital, Nexus Ventures and Shell Ventures.
Rapido did not disclose the transaction value. A person familiar with the deal said the investment valued Rapido at $830 million.
The Rapido deal highlights renewed investor interest in India’s mobility space after a temporary pause due to the covid-induced turbulence. Last October, public transportation-tech firm Chalo raised $40 million in its Series C round led by Lightrock India and Filter Capital. Chalo also acquired scooter rental startup Vogo in March, adding to its acquisition of bus aggregator Shuttl’s business for an undisclosed sum in October. Also, ride-hailing company Ola recently raised ₹150 crore in its ongoing Series J round from Axis Growth Avenues AIF and Arrow Multi-Asset Fund.
Rapido raised $124.6 million from Swiggy by selling 199,948 Series D compulsory convertible preference shares (CCPS) and 10 equity shares, according to the filings with the registrar of companies. TVS Motor and WestBridge Capital contributed $15 million and $30 million, respectively. The remainder came from Nexus Ventures and Shell Ventures.
“While we’ve already been working together, this investment facilitates closer alignment to leverage the synergies between the platforms and improve the value we provide to both consumers and delivery executives across the country," said Sriharsha Majety, co-founder and chief executive officer of Swiggy.
Rapido plans to use the fresh capital to improve technology, strengthen its workforce and increase overall supply to create an enhanced consumer experience in metros and tier-I, II and III cities.
The platform also aims to invest the newly-raised capital across categories comprising bike taxi, auto and delivery.
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Founded by Aravind Sanka, Rishikesh S.R. and Pavan Guntupalli in 2015, Rapido began to expand beyond bike taxi service to include auto-rickshaws in several cities.
“We look forward to learning from Swiggy’s experience to scale up throughout the country and enhance our customers’ experience, who are the backbone of our business," said Sanka.
“Besides, TVS Motor, who are very passionate about EVs and the future of mobility, will help us in further expansion. We hope to accelerate our pace of becoming a household name as we increase our geographies and services, on the backbone of our robust, global-standard technology," he said.