Indian ride-hailing corporate Rapido stated on Friday it had raised $240 million in recent investment at a $3 billion valuation to compete higher within the nation’s rising however difficult mobility marketplace.
Led via Prosus, the fairness spherical noticed participation from current buyers, together with WestBridge Capital and Accel. The spherical was once a part of a bigger $730 million number one and secondary financing. Rapido was once in the past valued at $2.3 billion right through a secondary transaction closing yr.
Rapido stated the recent capital can be used to extend its footprint in high-growth markets, beef up its driving force community, and spend money on generation and platform potency.
“We’re going deeper into markets the place call for exists, however provide stays fragmented,” Rapido co-founder Aravind Sanka stated in a remark. “We will be able to sharpen our focal point on strengthening provide, construction applied sciences, and increasing our multimodal footprint, with a ways better pace and intent.”
The investment spherical underlines proceeding investor pastime in India’s mobility sector in spite of power considerations about pricing pressures, law, and profitability.
Based in 2015, Rapido operates in additional than 400 towns and has spurred its progress via enabling ride-hailing for lower-cost and extra versatile modes of shipping reminiscent of motorbikes and auto-rickshaws in India’s congested, price-sensitive towns. The Bengaluru-based startup has been increasing to smaller cities, too.
The investment comes within the wake of Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi’s discuss with to India, the place the ride-hailing massive this week unveiled plans to make bigger its engineering and infrastructure operations by way of two new generation campuses and a neighborhood information middle partnership. Uber previous this yr infused $330 million into its India subsidiary because it sought to beef up its presence amid rising festival from native opponents like Ola, Rapido, and Namma Yatri.
Khosrowshahi stated closing yr that Rapido had overtaken Ola as Uber’s greatest competitor within the nation.
India is recently some of the international’s maximum difficult ride-hailing markets on account of intense price cutting war, provide problems, excessive driving force incentive prices, and evolving native rules. However, Rapido has unexpectedly expanded its marketplace proportion, even getting into the meals supply trade via its subsidiary Ownly closing yr.
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