Inside Swiggy’s IPO gameplan; Rapido secures $200M funding

Hello,

The best things in life happen unexpectedly. But not in the cryptosphere.

Spot Ethereum exchange-traded-funds (ETFs) were initially anticipated to spark renewed interest in the cryptocurrency and drive positive price action. However, institutional investors have largely turned away.

In the first month since their launch in July, ETH ETFs recorded outflows of approximately $476 million. This stands in stark contrast to Bitcoin ETFs garnering inflows exceeding $3.7 billion during the same period.

There’s a clear favourite!

Even North Korea is hopping in on the action…but not for the reasons you think.

The hermit kingdom is aggressively attempting to infiltrate cryptocurrency businesses and platforms by using malware to steal funds, the FBI has warned. Hackers have been researching targets and often impersonate real people or companies to trick victims into trusting them so they can send malware.

Back home, the Indian bourses too are seeing something unexpected.

The SME IPO mania took over the latest company after Boss Packaging Solutions’ Rs 8.4-crore IPO was subscribed 135 times. The Ahmedabad-based business has 64 employees and old pictures of its office—in a dilapidated condition—went viral on social media.

While the frenzy may hint at upbeat market sentiment and healthy economic growth, experts believe abundant liquidity, FOMO, and a get-rich-quick attitude are pushing retail investors to SME IPOs.

However, the blind bet comes with some mathematics, as the lot size of an SME IPO can be 8X of a mainboard IPO—and so can be the difference in profits.

SEBI has repeatedly raised red flags and sounded warnings, which can be summed up in a Japanese proverb: Where profit is, loss is hidden nearby. 

In today’s newsletter, we will talk about 

• Inside Swiggy’s IPO gameplan
• Rapido secures $200M funding
• Fixing India’s nutrition needs

Here’s your trivia for today: In which county in the United Kingdom is the Glastonbury Festival held?

Foodtech

Inside Swiggy’s IPO gameplan

Foodtech major Swiggy is targeting a valuation of between $15 billion and $17 billion. The valuation is closely tied to the revenue multiples of its publicly listed competitor Zomato in FY24. Swiggy was valued at $10.7 billion in its last round of funding of $700 million by Invesco in 2022.

Valuation:

• Swiggy's annual report presented to shareholders, which was reviewed by YourStory, indicates that it is banking on an increase in order values, increased advertising revenues, and cost reduction methods to improve profitability ahead of its public offering.
• The company is expected to have a revenue multiple of around 11X based on FY24 revenue at a $15-billion valuation during its IPO.
• This is slightly lower than Zomato's 13X revenue multiple as of March 2024, primarily due to the losses Swiggy has incurred, in contrast to Zomato's profit in the previous year.

Funding Alert

Startup: Rapido

Amount: $200M

Round: Series E

Startup: Drip Capital

Amount: $113M

Round: Equity and debt

Startup: The Hosteller

Amount: $4M

Round: Series A

Investment

Rapido secures $200M funding

Ride-hailing platform Rapido has raised $200 million in a Series E funding round, marking its entry in the unicorn club. The funding round was led by existing investor WestBridge Capital and also saw participation from Nexus and new investors—Think Investments and Invus Opportunities.

Key takeaways:

• Rapido will use the fresh funds to expand its operations across the country and scale its technology platform to improve service delivery.
• The company plans to grow operations across categories, including three-wheelers, taxi-cabs and bike-taxis.
• It reported a rise in revenue to Rs 497.5 crore in FY 2022-23 compared with Rs 157.9 crore earned in FY 2021-22. Net loss for the period widened to Rs 674.6 crore. 

Startup

Fixing India’s nutrition needs

Friends Vaibhav Bhandari and Rahul Jacob launched Supply6 in 2019 with a loan of Rs 10 lakh via the Pradhan Mantri Mudra Yojana. The supplement brand looks to bridge the nutrient gap and improve overall wellbeing with products supplementing nutrients like protein, carbohydrates, fats, vitamins, minerals and fibre. 

Wellness:

• Supply6 currently offers five SKUs, including Supply6 Wholesome Meal, Supply6 360, Flawless Skin, Daily Energy Gel, and Ashwagandha Gummies. 
• The company initially introduced quick powdered meals that could be prepared in under 30 seconds, targeted at those who frequently eat out but want a nutritious option.
• In June 2022, the D2C brand had raised $800,000 in funding from investors including iSeed Ventures, Silicon Road Ventures, and MaGEHold. 

News & updates

• Fibre deal: Verizon is poised to buy Frontier Communications in an all-cash deal valued at $20 billion, as the US wireless carrier looks to boost its fibre network. The acquisition, which is expected to close in about 18 months, will help Verizon better compete against AT&T and others.
• EV scaleback: Volvo Cars on Thursday scaled back its margin and revenue targets after announcing it was no longer targeting 100% all-electric vehicle sales by 2030.
• Retreat: A global survey by market research firm Kantar found that a net 26% of marketers plan to decrease their spending on X in 2025, the biggest recorded pullback from any major global ad platform.

In which county in the United Kingdom is the Glastonbury Festival held?

Answer: Somerset.

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