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Exclusive: Mobility unicorn Rapido set to raise $60 Mn from Prosus

EntrackrEntrackr · 9m ago
Exclusive: Mobility unicorn Rapido set to raise $60 Mn from Prosus
Medial

Mobility firm Rapido is set to raise $50-60 million in a mix of primary and secondary capital from Prosus, according to three sources familiar with the deal. This tranche is part of its ongoing $200 million round. “Prosus will acquire a $60 million stake in Rapido. The terms of the deal have been finalized, and it will also enable partial exits for early backers,” said one of the sources, requesting anonymity. Rapido has already secured $120 million in its Series E funding round from WestBridge Capital, through investment vehicles including SETU AIF and Konark. Entrackr had exclusively decoded this tranche in August. “With Prosus’s $60 million, Rapido will conclude its Series E round,” said another source, who also wished to remain anonymous. Sources indicate that the company’s valuation will remain unchanged. According to estimates from startup data intelligence platform TheKredible, Rapido was valued at around $1.02 billion in the initial tranche of the Series E round, funded entirely by WestBridge. Queries sent to Rapido and Prosus didn’t elicit any immediate response. We will update the story in case they do. It’s worth noting that Prosus is the largest stakeholder in food delivery and quick commerce major Swiggy. Swiggy acquired over a 12% stake in Rapido after leading its $180 million funding round in November 2022. Prosus’s interest in Rapido comes at a time when Rapido has surpassed Ola and Uber to become the largest player in the overall ride-hailing space (covering bikes, autos, and cabs), according to Rapido’s internal documents reviewed by Entrackr. Rapido has yet to disclose its FY24 numbers, but the firm’s operating revenue tripled to Rs 443 crore in FY23. This steep growth in scale also led to a 54% increase in losses, reaching Rs 675 crore in FY23.

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Rapido raises Rs 250 Cr from Prosus as part of Series E round

EntrackrEntrackr · 5m ago
Rapido raises Rs 250 Cr from Prosus as part of Series E round
Medial

Rapido raises Rs 250 Cr from Prosus as part of Series E round Mobility firm Rapido is raising Rs 250 crore (around $29.7 million) from Prosus as part of Series E round. This funding comes just seven months after its $120 million round, which was led by WestBridge. The board at Rapido has passed a special resolution to issue 47,743 Series E preference shares at an issue price of Rs 52,467 each to raise Rs 250 crore or $29.7 million, the company's regulatory filing accessed from the Registrar of Companies shows. Rapido was set to raise approximately $60 million in a mix of primary and secondary funding from Prosus, as exclusively reported by Entrackr in October 2024. The ride-hailing app is raising $200 million in its Series E round at a $1.1 billion valuation. The company has already received two tranches—$120 million and $29.7 million. Following this latest tranche, Prosus will hold around 2.9% of Rapido. Based on Entrackr’s estimates, Rapido is currently valued at approximately Rs 8,726 crore (just over $1 billion). Rapido recorded 46.3% year-on-year growth, with revenue standing at Rs 648 crore in the fiscal year ending March 2024. The company also reduced its losses by 45%, bringing them down to Rs 371 crore during the same period. In Q2 FY25, Rapido reported a 2.5X year-on-year increase in gross order value (GOV), reaching Rs 2,461 crore, up from Rs 977 crore in Q2 FY24. The company also saw a two-fold increase in rides, totaling 207 million.

Decoding Rapido’s $120 Mn unicorn round

EntrackrEntrackr · 11m ago
Decoding Rapido’s $120 Mn unicorn round
Medial

Mobility startup Rapido recently turned unicorn after raising $120 million in a Series E funding round from WestBridge Capital through its various investment vehicles including SETU AIF and Konark. While the firm didn’t announce the funding officially, Entrackr has sifted through its regulatory filings to decode every detail of the round which was entirely led by WestBridge —an uncommon deal in the ecosystem. The board at Rapido has passed a special resolution to issue 10 equity, 95,479 Series E, and 95,489 Series E1 compulsory convertible preferred shares at Rs 52,467 each to raise Rs 1,002 crore (approximately $120 million) from WestBridge Capital through its 3 investment vehicles including SETU AIF, Konark, and MMPL Trust. Notably, shares issued worth Rs 501 crore were fully paid-up shares while the other 50% is partly-paid up. This essentially means that Rapido will receive the partly paid amount (Rs 501 crore) in tranches. Rapido will use the proceeds for expansion and growth, as per filings. According to the startup data intelligence platform, TheKredible’s estimates, Rapido was valued at around Rs 8,517 crore (approximately $1.02 billion) in the series E round. With this investment, WestBridge remained the largest external stakeholder with 32.88%, followed by Swiggy and Nexus Ventures, which own 12.32% and 8.19%, respectively. See TheKredibe for the complete shareholding pattern. Rapido also claimed to have left Ola behind and became the number two player after Uber in the overall ride-hailing space (bike, auto, and cabs). As of March 2024, Uber processed 19.3 lakh rides on a daily basis while Rapido did 16.5 lakh rides a day followed by Ola which did 13 lakh rides, as per Rapido’s internal documents reviewed by Entrackr. While Rapido is yet to disclose FY24 numbers, the firm’s operating revenue surged 3X to Rs 443 crore during FY23. The steep growth in scale also caused a 54% spike in losses, which stood at Rs 675 crore in FY23.

Exclusive: upGrad raises $35 Mn debt from EvolutionX

EntrackrEntrackr · 1y ago
Exclusive: upGrad raises $35 Mn debt from EvolutionX
Medial

Edtech unicorn upGrad has raised Rs 287.5 crore (approximately $35 million) from EvolutionX. This is the first debt funding for the Mumbai-based company this year. The board at upGrad has passed a special resolution to issue 28,75,000 debentures at an issue price of Rs 1,000 each to raise Rs 287.5 crore or $35 million, its regulatory filing accessed from the Registrar of Companies shows. The company will use these funds for growth, operating expenses, and general corporate purposes, according to the filings. upGrad has raised over $650 million to date including $36.5 million via right issue from Teamsek, founder Ronnie Screwala, and other in March last year. The Temasek-backed company was reportedly in talks to raise $100 million to close the acquisition of online education firm Udacity. According to the startup data intelligence platform TheKredible, Temasek is the largest external stakeholder with 20.7% while Upgrad’s co-founder and chairperson Ronnie Screwvala holds a major 22.4% of the company. upGrad forayed into the offline higher education space in 2022 and invested $30 million to set up ten global campuses across India, the US, and other regions. upGrad experienced notable growth as its operational revenue increased by 72% to Rs 1,194 crore in FY23, up from Rs 692 crore in FY22. However, alongside this growth, the company’s losses also rose by 82% to Rs 1,114 crore in FY23. The company is yet to file its annual results for FY24.

Exclusive: Bluestone expands ESOP pool, COO Sudeep Nagar receives $11 Mn worth grant

EntrackrEntrackr · 1m ago
Exclusive: Bluestone expands ESOP pool, COO Sudeep Nagar receives $11 Mn worth grant
Medial

Exclusive: Bluestone expands ESOP pool, COO Sudeep Nagar receives $11 Mn worth grant Omnichannel jewellery retailer Bluestone has expanded its existing ESOP plan to $80 million by adding additional employee stock options for its employees. The board at Bluestone has passed a resolution for approval to add 42,43,312 employee stock options to its existing plan, bringing the total ESOP pool to 1,17,27,642 options, its regulatory filing accessed through the Registrar of Companies (RoC) shows. According to Entrackr’s estimates, the newly added ESOPs are worth around Rs 245 crore or around $29 million. Out of the newly added stock options, Rs 92.6 crore ($11 million) will be granted to the company’s Chief Operating Officer (COO), Sudeep Nagar. This addition brings the total value of Bluestone’s ESOP pool to Rs 678 crore or around $80 million. Notably, these valuations are based on the company's last funding round, where it raised around Rs 900 crore pre-IPO round led by Prosus, out of which Rs 300 crore is secondary. Ahead of Bluestone’s IPO, Global consumer internet group Prosus values the company at $950 million, just shy of unicorn status ahead of its IPO. Prosus has valued its stake in BlueStone at $42 million, as per its latest annual report. The stake, held through its fund MIH Investments One B.V., represents a 4.43% ownership in the jewellery brand. As per ET report, Bluestone is all set to join the unicorn status with secondary transactions worth Rs 300-350 crore by private wealth management arms of 360 One and Centrum Wealth. This will value the company at $1.2 billion. In December 2024, Bluestone filed its draft red herring prospectus (DRHP) with SEBI for an IPO, comprising a fresh issue of equity shares worth up to Rs 1,000 crore and an offer for sale (OFS) of up to 2.398 crore shares, allowing a full exit for Samma Capital, IvyCap Ventures, and Kalaari Capital. Founded in 2011, omnichannel jewellery brand BlueStone offers high-value gold and diamond jewellery, including rings, pendants, chains, and earrings, through its retail stores and online platform. As per its DRHP, the company operates over 203 stores across 86 cities. BlueStone has raised around $262 million across multiple funding rounds from investors such as Accel, Prosus, Peak XV Partners, 360 One, Kalaari Capital, and others, according to startup data intelligence platform TheKredible. In FY24, BlueStone’s revenue grew 64% year-on-year to Rs 1,266 crore, up from Rs 771 crore in FY23. The company also trimmed its losses by 15% during the same period, bringing them down to Rs 142 crore.

Exclusive: 60-min fashion delivery startup Slikk to raise $10 Mn led by Nexus

EntrackrEntrackr · 4m ago
Exclusive: 60-min fashion delivery startup Slikk to raise $10 Mn led by Nexus
Medial

Exclusive: 60-min fashion delivery startup Slikk to raise $10 Mn led by Nexus Slikk, a fashion delivery platform promising 60-minute delivery, is all set to raise another funding round following its recent seed investment, sources familiar with the matter told Entrackr. "Nexus is spearheading a $10 million funding round at a $40 million valuation," said one of the sources. "The deal has already been finalized, and existing investors are expected to participate." On Tuesday, Slikk announced $3.2 million seed round led by Lightspeed with participation from Multiply Ventures and angel investors including Abhishek Goyal (Tracxn), Abhinav Pathak (Perpule), Madhav Tandan, Nikhil (Panthera), and Saurabh Gupta (DST Global). Slikk targets young, impulse-driven shoppers, including students, professionals, and trend-savvy urbanites influenced by social media. Over the next five years, it plans to expand into tier I and tier II cities, offering 60-minute fashion delivery while diversifying into seven-plus lifestyle categories. The startup features more than 80 brands, including Snitch, The Souled Store, Freakins, Uptownie, Off Duty, Bonkers, and Bewakoof. "Quick commerce is trending, and investors have recently shown strong interest in the fashion segment. With Myntra introducing a 30-minute delivery service for fashion and beauty products, more startups are likely to follow suit and seek funding,” said another source. Slikk declined to comment on the story while queries sent to Nexus did not elicit an immediate response.

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