Rapido looks to venture into food delivery business challenging Zomato, Swiggy: Report

Ride hailing startup Rapido is reportedly looking to venture into the food delivery business.

According to a report by The Economic Times, Rapido is exploring options of adding food delivery as an option on its platform. The company’s senior executives are said to be in talks with restaurant owners, exploring the business model that is expected to challenge the present commission-based listing structure of food delivery platforms Swiggy and Zomato.

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“These are early discussions to determine if Rapido can challenge the Zomato-Swiggy duopoly. The company already offers delivery services for individual restaurants using its two-wheeler fleet,” ET quoted its sources as saying, adding that the plans are not finalised as of now and the discussions are still going on.

Rapido is also reported to be involved in delivering food on behalf of Swiggy, which is an investor in the company as well. The report said that Swiggy’s investment does not have any exclusivity clause that could pose a hurdle to such initiative.

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Additionally, Rapido co-founder Pavan Guntupalli recently told PTI that the company plans to expand to 500 cities this year in India and is growing steadily.

“We are seeing strong growth. We have already turned market leaders in the two-wheeler industry and the three-wheeler industry,” he said, adding that in a couple of cities, it is also a market leader in the four-wheeler industry.

“Rapido clocks about 33 lakh rides per day. However, if you compare it to the opportunity as to what India has to offer, we have barely scratched the surface,” Guntupalli added.

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Rapido’s development to venture into food-delivery business comes at the stage when it has crossed $1 billion in annualised gross merchandise value (GMV) from its ride services, according to ET.

Rapido raised $30 million from Dutch investor Prosus in February 2025. This was an extension of its last year’s $200 million round led by WestBridge Capital.