Accel has invested in Rapido, the ride-hailing platform that competes with Uber in India, while Prosus increased its stake after Indian two-wheeler giant TVS Motor sold its entire stake.
On Thursday, TVS Motor told a stock exchange filing (PDF) that it sold its entire stake in Rapido for ₹2.88 billion (about $32 million) to Accel and Prosus’ investment arm MIH Investments, securing a return of over 152% over the past three years.
Founded in 2015, Rapido has grown into a major player in India’s ride-hailing market, competing with Uber, Ola and inDrive. The company started with bike taxis before expanding into auto-rickshaw bookings and car services and added courier services to its platform. More recently it is piloting a food delivery service in select cities, entering a segment dominated by Swiggy and Zomato.
TVS Motor first invested in Rapido in April 2022 as part of the company’s $180 million Series D round, joining existing backers such as WestBridge Capital, Shell Ventures and Nexus Venture Partners. The carmaker bought its stake at the time for ₹1.14 billion, according to earlier investor disclosures (PDF).
As part of the latest transaction, Accel bought 11,997 preferred shares of Rapido, while Prosus bought 11,988 preferred shares and 10 shares. Both investors paid about ₹1.44 billion (about $16 million) each.
Accel’s backing of Rapido marks the company’s return to India’s ride-hailing sector, which was early investor in Ola. The move comes as Rapido is in talks with Accel and Prosus about a new round of seed funding that could close next year, according to two people familiar with the matter who spoke to TechCrunch. The exact amount of funding has yet to be determined.
Prosus is already an investor in Rapido and expanded its stake through another secondary share sale in September when Swiggy sold its entire stake. That transaction doubled Rapido’s valuation to $2.3 billion, TechCrunch reported.
Techcrunch event
San Francisco
|
13-15 October 2026
Accel and Prosus are also among the early backers of Swiggy, which pulled out of Rapido after citing a potential conflict of interest as the startup prepares to expand into the food delivery market.
Accel and Prosus did not respond to requests for comment. Rapido could not be reached for comment.
