Uber-rival Rapido doubles valuation to $2.3B following Swiggy stake sale

Rapido, a fashionable ride-hailing level successful India that competes with Uber, has doubled its valuation to $2.3 cardinal pursuing a secondary stock merchantability by nutrient transportation elephantine Swiggy. The stock merchantability comes conscionable weeks aft Rapido began piloting nutrient deliveries, edging into Swiggy’s halfway territory.

Swiggy has offloaded its full 12% involvement successful Rapido for ₹24 cardinal (about $270 million) done 2 abstracted deals, according to regulatory filings. Around 10% of the involvement is being acquired by Prosus for ₹19.68 cardinal (roughly $222 million), portion the remaining involvement is being sold to WestBridge Capital for ₹4.31 cardinal (about $49 million), according to regulatory filings released aft Swiggy’s committee gathering connected Tuesday.

The Dutch concern radical Prosus is already a communal backer of some Swiggy and Rapido, and is the largest shareholder successful Swiggy.

Rapido’s latest stock merchantability pegs the startup astatine much than doubly its $1.1 cardinal valuation from September 2024, a fig that its CEO confirmed with TechCrunch.

In August, Rapido ventured into nutrient deliveries successful Bengaluru done a aviator programme operated by its subsidiary Ownly. The aviator marked Rapido’s introduction into a assemblage agelong dominated by Swiggy and its arch-rival Zomato. Rapido co-founder and CEO Aravind Sanka confirmed to TechCrunch astir the pilot, stating that it initially began successful 3 neighborhoods wrong the city.

The Rapido’s introduction into nutrient transportation came implicit 3 years aft Swiggy backed the startup successful a $180 cardinal backing round successful April 2022.

Rapido besides partnered with Swiggy arsenic a last-mile transportation provider, helping fulfill nutrient orders connected the platform. Swiggy’s aboriginal concern gave Rapido a model into lawsuit request patterns and the operational challenges faced by restaurants connected the platform, including the commissions required to person orders, a root acquainted with the substance told TechCrunch.

Swiggy hinted earlier this twelvemonth that it mightiness merchantability its involvement successful Rapido. In a July missive to shareholders, Swiggy stated it was reassessing its involvement successful Rapido owed to a imaginable struggle of interest, arsenic the ride-hailing institution prepared to participate the nutrient transportation market. Swiggy co-founder and CEO Sriharsha Majety besides mentioned during a July net telephone that the institution “even had immoderate conversations astir a imaginable collaboration successful nutrient transportation with Rapido.”

“Unfortunately, that didn’t materialize, and Rapido decided to participate the business,” Majety told investors connected the call.

It’s inactive excessively aboriginal to gauge whether Rapido’s emerging nutrient transportation concern volition impact incumbents similar Swiggy and Zomato.

The introduction was expected to unit existing players to little their commissions to clasp edifice partners. However, a caller Goods and Services Tax (GST) update by the Indian authorities whitethorn bounds pricing flexibility, with a flat 18% tax present levied connected online nutrient deliveries, making outgo competitiveness a little effectual edge.

That said, Rapido has already been a beardown contender successful India’s ride-hailing market. Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi precocious described the startup arsenic Uber’s biggest rival successful India — not the SoftBank-backed incumbent, Ola.

As Rapido creeps into nutrient delivery, Swiggy continues to physique retired its instant commerce business, a competitory manufacture that offers speedy transportation of groceries and different items successful little than an hour.

Swiggy announced the incorporation of a step-down subsidiary for its fast-growing speedy commerce limb Instamart. The determination could assistance it fortify its presumption successful India’s competitory speedy commerce market, which includes players specified arsenic Zomato’s Blinkit, Flipkart, and Amazon. The operation whitethorn besides pave the mode for a imaginable spin-off oregon abstracted fundraising for Instamart successful the future.

Instamart has emerged arsenic Swiggy’s fastest-growing concern successful caller months, with its gross bid worth surging 82% to ₹146.83 cardinal ($1.7 billion) successful FY25 (PDF) — astir a 3rd of the company’s full B2C orders. Instamart’s gross besides much than doubled to ₹22.52 cardinal ($254 million), outpacing the halfway nutrient transportation segment, which grew 16.4% successful bid worth and 83% successful revenue.