The battle for market share in India’s ride hailing industry between American giant Uber and homegrown Rapido has intensified, even as the once-dominant position of the country’s first major ride-hailing service—Ola Cabs—steadily erodes.
In a bid to bulk up its financial firepower, Uber has pumped nearly ₹3,000 crore into its India unit in recent months to take on the challenge from Bengaluru-based Rapido, which entered the current fiscal year with a stronger cash position and has rapidly gained market share.
The Indian unit of US-based Uber Technologies Inc got ₹2,721 crore in January from Uber BV, the Dutch arm of Uber, following a ₹200-crore investment made in November, according to a Mint review of the financials filed with the ministry of corporate affairs (MCA).
On the other hand, Rapido received ₹125 crore funding in FY26 from Nexus Ventures. Its last significant capital round was a $200-million series E raise in 2024 led by WestBridge Capital, which made it a unicorn (startup with a billion-dollar valuation).
However, Rapido ended last fiscal (FY25) with ₹345 crore free cash in hand, while Uber had ₹292 crore, MCA data showed.
Experts note that in the ride hailing business, higher cash in hand of companies can help in incentivising drivers and customers, which in turn will help in defending market share.
The buildup of cash reserves by the two rivals signals that the ride-hailing war between Rapido and Uber is entering a new phase, a fact underscored by Uber’s chief executive Dara Khosrowshahi last year. In a podcast with Zerodha co-founder Nikhil Kamath last year, Khosrowshahi said, “Ola used to be our main competition. Now the tougher competition in India is Rapido.”
Queries sent to Rapido, Uber and Ola remained unanswered till press time.
Battle for market share
Back-to-back fund infusions from the American company in India came after it saw its revenue stagnate at ₹3,849 crore in FY25 with only 2% year-on-year growth compared to a 44% growth in revenue for Rapido at ₹934 crore, albeit on a lower base.
On the profit front, too, Rapido’s losses decreased in FY25 even as Uber’s losses multiplied. Rapido, which is eyeing an initial public offering, saw its losses shrink from ₹371 crore in FY24 to ₹258 crore in FY25, according to data from MoCA.
On the other hand, losses at Uber’s India unit spiked from ₹89 crore in FY24 to ₹1,511 crore in FY25 owing to a rise in operating costs as it sought to defend its market share in the cab hailing space and increase it in the bike hailing market dominated by Rapido.
According to an industry executive privy to the internal estimates of the cab aggregators, as of mid-2025, Rapido had garnered over 20% market share in the four-wheeler ride-hailing segment since starting services in late 2023, growing mostly at the expense of Ola.
Uber’s market share hovered at around 45%, while Ola’s has dropped to 25-30% from 42-44% in FY24, according to this executive, who spoke on condition of anonymity.
War of balance sheets
The battle between Rapido and Uber comes at a time when rating agencies such as S&P and Moody’s have flagged deteriorating cash positions at Ola Cabs.
“Heightened competition in India's ride-hailing industry is likely to continue. ANI Tech (Ola) is losing market share to Uber Technologies Inc. and Roppen Transportation Services Pvt. Ltd. (Rapido),” analysts at S&P Global said in a note on 10 December.
“Larger peers such as Uber have stronger balance sheets and can remain competitive with incentives and discounts for drivers and consumers, respectively, to grow and maintain their strong market share,” they added.
Pratik Shah, partner at EY Parthenon for Automotive and Mobility, earlier told Mint that Rapido’s quick expansion in tier-II and tier-III cities, a driver-friendly subscription model, and strong app adoption have helped it compete effectively with Uber and Ola.
“Competition among Rapido, Uber, and Ola is driven by pricing, driver incentives, and coverage,” Shah had said on the factors driving the competition between the three players.