INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Rappi, the Colombian on-demand delivery startup, has brought in a new round of funding at a valuation north of $1 billion, as first reported
by Axios and confirmed to TechCrunchby a source close to the company
DST Global has led the more than $200 million financing, with participation from Andreessen Horowitz and Sequoia — all of which were
existing investors in the company.Rappi kicked off its business delivering beverages and has since expanded into meals, groceries and even
You can, for example, have a pair of AirPods delivered to you using Rappi app
The company also has a popular cash withdrawal feature that allows users to pay with credit cards and then receive cash from one of Rappi
delivery agents.Rappi charges $1 per delivery
To help keep costs efficient, the company fleet of couriers use only motorcycles and bikes
Simón Borrero, Sebastian Mejia and Felipe Villamarin launched the company in 2015, graduating from Y Combinator the following year
From there, Rappi quickly captured the attention of American venture capitalists
A16z initial investment in July 2016 was the Silicon Valley firm first investment in Latin America
The new capital will likely be used to help Rappi compete with Uber Eats, which is active across Latin America.The tech investment wave has
reached Latin AmericaThe round for Rappiis notable for a Latin American company, as is its new unicorn status
Only one other Latin American startup, Nubank, has surpassed a billion-dollar valuation with new venture capital funding so far in 2018
São Paulo-based Nubank makes a no-fee credit card and is also backed by DST.Investment in Latin American tech continues to reach new highs
In the first quarter of 2018, more than $600 million was invested
That followed a record 2017, which was the first time VCs funneled more than $1 billion into the continent tech ecosystem during a 12-month
period.The rise in investment is mostly due to sizable fundings for companies like Rappi and Nubank, as well as Brazil-based 99, which sold
to fellow ride-hailing business Didi Chuxing inadeal worth $1 billion earlier this year.
