Pawan Munjal, Rajan Anandan invest in bike taxi operator Rapido

NEW DELHI: Bike taxi operator Rapido today said it has received funding from a set of investors, including Hero MotoCorp Chairman Pawan Munjal and Google India head Rajan Anandan.

The company has raised pre-series A round of funding led by Munjal, AdvantEdge Partners, Astarc Ventures and Tesellate Ventures, among others, Rapido said in a statement.

"Rapido is a commendable initiative and has the potential to generate significant employment, besides making convenient motorised transport accessible to the masses. With their strong background and passion, I believe that the founders of Rapido are well positioned to deliver on their promise," Munjal, who invested in his personal capacity, said.

Other investors include Anupam Mittal, founder and CEO of People group; Smile Group Partners; Ankit Nagori, ex CBO, Flipkart, and Kunal Khattar, serial entrepreneur and co-founder of Carnation Auto, it added.

The company, however, did not disclose financial details.

"The funds will be deployed for Rapido's expansion into other cities and building up the team," Rapido co-founder Aravind Sanka said.

At the moment, the company has a fleet of over 400 bikes across Bangalore, Gurgaon and Delhi. The number is set to touch 1,000 over the next two months, Sanka disclosed.

"Our investors will contribute not only by infusing capital but by sharing expertise in scaling the business," he added.