WestBridge Capital led the $200 million Series E funding round for the ride-hailing app Rapido. Think Investments, Nexus Venture Partners, and Invus Group were also involved in the round.
The other three investors provided the remaining funds, with WestBridge contributing $120 million on its own. With this, the Bengaluru-based company’s valuation has increased to $1.1 billion. Last month, Entrackr had deciphered WestBride’s investment in Rapido.
According to the company, the money will be used to expand four-wheeler ride-hailing services. The taxi service was introduced in December 2023. This will also help it to compete in India against industry titans like Ola and Uber.
Media obtained access to Rapido’s internal documents, which show that the company overtook Ola to take the second spot in the whole ride-hailing market, which includes cars, bikes, and taxis, behind Uber. As of March 2024, Ola processed 13 lakh rides per day, followed by Rapido with 16.5 lakh and Uber with 19.3 lakh rides daily.
According to Rapido, each of bikes and taxis contributes 30% of its GMV, whereas autorickshaws account for 40%. By themselves, bike taxis provide more than half of all rides.
WestBridge held 32.88% of the total stake as of last month; it was followed by Swiggy and Nexus Ventures, with 12.32% and 8.19% of the total, respectively. Following additional investments from Think Investments, Nexus, and Invus Group, the shareholding pattern will change.
During FY23, Rapido’s operating revenue increased three times to Rs 443 crore. The sharp increase in scale was also responsible for a 54% increase in losses in FY23, totaling Rs 675 crore. The company has not yet released FY24 financials.
