Indian Uber rival Rapido raises $240M at $3B valuation

Indian ride-hailing institution Rapido said connected Friday it had raised $240 cardinal successful caller backing astatine a $3 cardinal valuation to vie amended successful the country’s increasing but challenging mobility market.

Led by Prosus, the equity circular saw information from existing investors, including WestBridge Capital and Accel. The circular was portion of a larger $730 cardinal superior and secondary financing. Rapido was antecedently valued astatine $2.3 billion during a secondary transaction past year.

Rapido said the caller superior would beryllium utilized to summation its footprint successful high-growth markets, fortify its operator network, and put successful exertion and level efficiency.

“We are going deeper into markets wherever request exists, but proviso remains fragmented,” Rapido co-founder Aravind Sanka said successful a statement. “We volition sharpen our absorption connected strengthening supply, gathering technologies, and expanding our multi-modal footprint, with acold greater velocity and intent.”

The backing circular underlines continuing capitalist involvement successful India’s mobility assemblage contempt persistent concerns astir pricing pressures, regulation, and profitability.

Founded successful 2015, Rapido operates successful much than 400 cities, and has spurred its maturation by enabling ride-hailing for lower-cost and much flexible modes of transport specified arsenic motorbikes and autorickshaws successful India’s congested, price-sensitive cities. The Bengaluru-based startup has been expanding to smaller towns, too.

The backing comes successful the aftermath of Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi’s sojourn to India, wherever the ride-hailing elephantine this week unveiled plans to expand its engineering and infrastructure operations via 2 caller exertion campuses and a section information halfway partnership. Uber earlier this twelvemonth infused $330 cardinal into its India subsidiary arsenic it sought to fortify its beingness amid increasing contention from section rivals similar Ola, Rapido, and Namma Yatri.

Khosrowshahi said past twelvemonth that Rapido had overtaken Ola arsenic Uber’s biggest rival successful the country.

India is presently 1 of the world’s astir challenging ride-hailing markets due to the fact that of aggravated terms competition, proviso issues, precocious operator inducement costs and evolving section regulations. Nevertheless, Rapido has rapidly expanded its marketplace share, adjacent entering the nutrient transportation business done its subsidiary Ownly past year.