Prosus CEO Fabricio Bloisi said Rapido has emerged as the strongest mobility player in India and is set to play a larger role in the group’s expanding ecommerce and fintech ecosystem.
The comment comes shortly after Prosus raised its stake in the Bengaluru-based ride-hailing company following a fresh investment.
“Rapido is India’s number one mobility company in the country, and it is going to benefit our ecosystem, and will also get benefits from cross-sell, loyalty, and financial services from our ecosystem,” Bloisi said while announcing the firm’s H1 FY26 results.
Prosus recently invested as much as $67 million in the mobility firm, increasing its stake to around 10.2 percent, filings showed.
Why are Bloisi’s comments significant?
Bloisi’s endorsement comes just months after Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi said Rapido — not Ola — has emerged as Uber’s top competitor in India. That remark effectively redrew the competitive map in a market long viewed as a two-horse race, and placed Rapido squarely at the centre of the country’s mobility narrative.
Rapido has also been widening its portfolio beyond mobility through initiatives such as its recent foray into food delivery. While still early, these moves signal an effort to diversify its business and strengthen unit economics.
How does Rapido fit into Prosus’ India ecosystem strategy?
Bloisi’s endorsement underscores Prosus’ strategy of building what it calls a “comprehensive lifestyle ecommerce ecosystem” in India, powered by UPI, ONDC and rapid digital adoption. The company said its India network — spanning PayU, Swiggy, PharmEasy, Meesho, Bluestone, Urban Company and now Rapido — is becoming increasingly interconnected, helping drive performance across payments, commerce and logistics.
In its earnings release, Prosus said collaborations inside the India ecosystem are accelerating, citing PayU’s work with Swiggy on checkout financing and restaurant credit, and with Meesho on early settlement and consumer BNPL solutions. PharmEasy, another Prosus-backed company, is working with Swiggy to explore quick-commerce fulfilment models.
Why is Prosus doubling down on mobility now?
Alongside Rapido, Prosus also made a large bet on travel-tech firm Ixigo, acquiring 16.2% (15.4% on a fully diluted basis) for $222 million and securing a board seat.
With Rapido in mobility and Ixigo in online travel, Prosus said it now has exposure to broader high-frequency consumer behaviour across transportation, commerce and services.
The company said these investments reflect the “maturity and significant growth potential” of the Indian market, alongside recent public listings of Bluestone and Urban Company and expected IPOs later in the year.
What does this mean for Rapido going forward?
While PayU and Swiggy remain the largest contributors to Prosus’ India exposure, the company said the next phase of growth will come from tighter synergy between its holdings—where Rapido plays a central role in expanding touchpoints across users, merchants and services. Prosus said such cross-portfolio integration is increasingly core to how it intends to accelerate performance in India over the next few years.
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