BENGALURU: Bike taxi platform Rapido has raised $180 million in a Series D round led by new investor -- food delivery giant Swiggy.
The round also saw participation from TVS Motor Company, along with existing investors Westbridge, Shell Ventures and Nexus Ventures.
The funds will be used to increase overall supply to create an enhanced consumer experience across a larger audience base in metros and tier 1, 2, and 3 cities and ensure a seamless last-mile connectivity, Rapido said.
Also, the amount will be leveraged to bolster Rapido’s technology, amplify and strengthen its teams across diverse sets of capabilities.
The bike taxi platform will be investing the funds in all its three categories -- bike-taxi, auto and delivery -- to enhance its captain (driver-partners) earnings, and improve customer experience in over 100 cities the company operates in.
“We hold a lot of respect for the resilience Rapido has displayed in transforming the mobility and logistics space in India,” said Sriharsha Majety, Co-founder and CEO of Swiggy.
Both Swiggy and Rapido are already working together, and it is said that this investment facilitates closer alignment to leverage the synergies between the platforms.
"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," Aravind Sanka, Co-Founder, Rapido said.
Rapido has been recording accumulative growth, and has raised $130 million in the past from various investors. With over 25 million customers and over 1.5 million captains, the startup has grown more than 2.5x from pre-pandemic levels.
Sudarshan Venu, Joint Managing Director, TVS Motor Company, said, “By partnering with like-minded companies we believe there is an opportunity to play a greater role."