Rapido bags $180 mn fund in round D from Swiggy

Operator of Rapido app, Roppen Transportation Services Pvt Ltd has secured $180 million in Series D funding round led by food delivery platform Swiggy. The round also saw participation from TVS Motors who came in as a new investor, with existing backers WestBridge Capital, Nexus Ventures, Shell Ventures. Rapido has raised $124.6 million from Swiggy in exchange for 1,99,948 Series D CCPS and 10 equity shares, while TVS Motors has contributed $15 million. Swiggy presently owns 1,99,958 shares in Rapido, which includes both stock and preference shares. This transaction now values Rapido at $830 million.

The company says that these funds will be invested in all its three categories, namely bike-taxi, auto, and delivery. Rapido adds that the funds would be leveraged to bolster Rapido’s technology, strengthen its teams across diverse sets of capabilities, increase overall supply to create an enhanced consumer experience across a larger audience base in metros, tier 1, 2, and 3 cities, and ensure seamless last-mile connectivity. The company aims to enhance its captain earnings, improve customer experience in 100+ cities the company operates in, and establish itself as an alternative mode of daily commuting.

Aravind Sanka, Co-Founder, Rapido, said, “We, at Rapido, are grateful to our existing and new investors for giving impetus to our vision. We look forward to learning from Swiggy’s experience to scale up throughout the country and enhance our captains’ / customers’ experience, who are the backbone of our business. Besides, TVS Motor, who are very passionate about EVs and the future of mobility, will help us in further expansion.”

Sriharsha Majety, Co-founder and CEO of Swiggy, commented, “Swiggy and Rapido share a vision to build a logistics platform that empowers riders through more opportunities and higher earnings. 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/captains across the country.”