Xiaomi in talks to back bike taxi app Rapido

BENGALURU/MUMBAI: Smartphone maker Xiaomi, along with several other existing investors like China’s Shunwei Capital, are in talks to invest in a $75-million round being raised by bike taxi application Rapido, according to two sources familiar with the development. The deal is expected to double the valuation of Rapido to over $300-350 million even as the startup continues to expand across the country amid flat growth in the cab segment.

The contours of the round are still being worked out and the startup could raise more capital — as much as $100 million — given its growth, said sources familiar with the talks.

The startup is also in discussions to bring other new investors on board. “Rapido is growing really fast and while they are not reaching profitability, they have still been able to maintain margins well,” said one of the sources mentioned earlier.


Rapido had last raised about $55 million at a valuation of close to $150 million from investors like Westbridge Capital, BAce Capital and Nexus Venture Partners earlier this year. Xiaomi and Rapido declined to comment. Shunwei, which is the VC fund started by Xiaomi founder Lei Jun, did not reply to an emailed query from TOI.

Rapido was founded by Aravind Sanka, Rishikesh S R and Pavan Guntupalli in 2015 and also counts Hero MotoCorp MD Pawan Munjal among its investors. From doing around 2.2 million rides a day in May this year, the startup is now doing 5 million rides daily across 80-90 cities in India, expanding its presence to smaller towns as well.