Exclusive | Rapido to become a unicorn in a few months: Co-founder
Rapido, known for bikes and autos on its platform, announced today that it has ventured into the cab business by launching 'Rapido Cabs.' The service has initially been launched in Delhi, Bengaluru, and Hyderabad, with plans for expansion to more states soon. Initially, Rapido aims to have 1 lakh cabs on its platform.
Indian ride-hailing service provider Rapido is confident that the startup will become a unicorn in the months to come. In an exclusive interaction with CNBC-TV18, Pavan Guntupalli, Co-founder of Rapido said, "Rapido is operationally profitable, we will soon become EBITDA profitable as well. Becoming a unicorn is just months down the line."
Rapido, known for bikes and autos on its platform, announced today (December 5) that it has ventured into the cab business by launching 'Rapido Cabs.' The service has initially been launched in Delhi, Bengaluru, and Hyderabad, with plans for expansion to more states soon. Initially, Rapido aims to have 1 lakh cabs on its platform.
When asked about how the company plans to compete with Ola and Uber, Guntupalli said, "Currently the ride-hailing app industry is facing problems. Prices of the rides are increasing & earnings of the drivers are decreasing. For a mature category, these are not positive signs. Existing business models could be the root cause of this situation."
He added, "We're launching a unique SaaS-based model. This is a zero-commission transparent model. We have transparent pricing for users. Hoping for drivers to join our platform who have left these platforms because of many issues. We're hoping the market size will increase."
While rivals charge a commission to their driver partners, Rapido will be charging a subscription fee to its driver partners instead of a commission. Guntupalli said, "Rapido has a unique position of being a low-cost player. Our mission is to provide economic solutions. Our cost structures are limited, we can sustain our business by charging just a subscription fee."
Recently the Delhi government notified the Delhi Motor Vehicle Aggregator and Delivery Service Provider Scheme 2023. According to the scheme, Delhi becomes the first state to mandate all passenger, delivery service, and e-commerce aggregator platforms' vehicles to be EVs by 2030.
According to the timelines, aggregators will have to make 10% of their two-wheeler EVs within 6 months, 25% within a year, and 50% in two years, followed by 75% and 100% in three and four years, respectively.
On the Delhi government's scheme, Guntupalli said, "Rapido does not come under the aggregator policy because we're a SaaS platform. We want to see roads getting cleaner & vehicles becoming sustainable We're looking forward to extensive partnerships in the next couple of years Partnerships will be aimed at converting existing vehicles to electric & new EVs. We will majorly focus on trying to understand current problems for EVs."
(Edited by : Anand Singha)
First Published: Dec 5, 2023 6:17 PM IST
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