Autos in its fleet and Swiggy in its corner, Rapido hits the growth pedal

Earlier this year, Aravind Sanka, the co-founder and CEO of ride-hailing platform Rapido, was forced to pick a side in India’s food-delivery war. Rapido had been approached by Gurugram-based Zomato, which offered to invest $150 million into the bike- and auto-hailing platform at a pre-money valuation of $450 million. Sanka met Zomato CEO Deepinder Goyal, with the two parties discussing potential synergies between their respective companies, two sources with knowledge of the matter told The CapTable.

Even as Sanka considered the proposal—which would outstrip the funding Rapido had raised throughout its existence—Zomato’s arch-nemesis, Swiggy, came calling as well. Swiggy offered Rapido more money, and at a higher valuation. In April, Swiggy would eventually lead a $180 million Series D fundraise, which gave Rapido a post-money valuation of $800 million. Following the fundraise, Swiggy now holds a 15% stake in Rapido.

It wasn’t just the sweeter terms on offer that led Rapido to choose Swiggy over Zomato. “What tipped it in Swiggy’s favour, besides the higher offer, is that both Swiggy and Rapido are based out of Bengaluru, and also there was a comfort level between founders of both companies,” said a source familiar with the fundraise.