Rapido, a preferred ride-hailing platform in India that competes with Uber, has doubled its valuation to $2.3 billion following a secondary share sale by meals supply large Swiggy. The share sale comes simply weeks after Rapido started piloting meals deliveries, edging into Swiggy’s core territory.

Swiggy has offloaded its total 12% stake in Rapido for ₹24 billion (about $270 million) by way of two separate offers, based on regulatory filings. Round 10% of the stake is being acquired by Prosus for ₹19.68 billion (roughly $222 million), whereas the remaining stake is being offered to WestBridge Capital for ₹4.31 billion (about $49 million), based on regulatory filings launched after Swiggy’s board assembly on Tuesday.

The Dutch funding group Prosus is already a standard backer of each Swiggy and Rapido, and is the biggest shareholder in Swiggy.

Rapido’s newest share sale pegs the startup at greater than twice its $1.1 billion valuation from September 2024, a determine that its CEO confirmed with TechCrunch.

In August, Rapido ventured into meals deliveries in Bengaluru by way of a pilot program operated by its subsidiary Ownly. The pilot marked Rapido’s entry right into a sector lengthy dominated by Swiggy and its archrival Zomato. Rapido co-founder and CEO Aravind Sanka confirmed to TechCrunch in regards to the pilot, stating that it initially started in three neighborhoods throughout the metropolis.

Rapido’s entry into meals supply came to visit three years after Swiggy backed the startup in a $180 million funding spherical in April 2022.

Rapido additionally partnered with Swiggy as a last-mile supply supplier, serving to fulfill meals orders on the platform. Swiggy’s early partnership gave Rapido a window into buyer demand patterns and the operational challenges confronted by eating places on the platform, together with the commissions required to obtain orders, a supply acquainted with the matter advised TechCrunch.

Swiggy hinted earlier this 12 months that it’d promote its stake in Rapido. In a July letter to shareholders, Swiggy said it was reassessing its stake in Rapido because of a possible battle of curiosity, because the ride-hailing firm ready to enter the food-delivery market. Swiggy co-founder and CEO Sriharsha Majety additionally talked about throughout a July earnings name that the corporate “even had some conversations round a possible collaboration in meals supply with Rapido.”

“Sadly, that didn’t materialize, and Rapido determined to enter the enterprise,” Majety advised traders on the decision.

It’s nonetheless too early to gauge whether or not Rapido’s rising meals supply enterprise will have an effect on incumbents like Swiggy and Zomato.

The entry was anticipated to stress current gamers to decrease their commissions to retain restaurant companions. Nonetheless, a latest items and providers tax (GST) replace by the Indian authorities could restrict pricing flexibility, with a flat 18% tax now levied on on-line meals deliveries, making price competitiveness a much less efficient edge.

That stated, Rapido has already been a robust contender in India’s ride-hailing market. Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi lately described the startup as Uber’s greatest rival in India — not the SoftBank-backed incumbent, Ola.

As Rapido creeps into meals supply, Swiggy continues to construct out its instant-commerce enterprise, a aggressive trade that gives fast supply of groceries and different gadgets in lower than an hour.

Swiggy introduced the incorporation of a step-down subsidiary for its fast-growing fast commerce arm Instamart. The transfer may assist it strengthen its place in India’s aggressive fast commerce market, which incorporates gamers similar to Zomato’s Blinkit, Flipkart, and Amazon. The construction may pave the way in which for a possible spin-off or separate fundraising for Instamart sooner or later.

Instamart has emerged as Swiggy’s fastest-growing enterprise in latest months, with its gross order worth surging 82% to ₹146.83 billion ($1.7 billion) in FY25 (PDF) — almost a 3rd of the corporate’s whole B2C orders. Instamart’s income additionally greater than doubled to ₹22.52 billion ($254 million), outpacing the core meals supply section, which grew 16.4% so as worth and 83% in income.