(Bloomberg) -- Rappi Inc., one of Latin America’s most valuable startups, expects to be ready to launch an initial public offering in 12 months, co-founder Simon Borrero said in a press conference.
The Colombian company, which offers delivery services in nine countries, has now reached profit levels that allow the leadership to consider an IPO, with New York as the “likely” jurisdiction, Borrero said, adding that in the past three years its revenue has doubled.
“We will be ready in a year, but we are not in a hurry,” he said. “Now that we are profitable, we are generating cash in order to invest.”
Backed by SoftBank, Bogota-based Rappi has expanded across the region since its founding in 2015 and reached break-even for the first time in late 2023. It’s still expanding, pouring money into Mexico and Brazil following the acquisition of a competitor. The company plans to expand to Central America, Borrero added.
Rappi is investing in artificial intelligence tools that improve the search algorithm and allow for voice delivery orders. The company is now present in 400 cities with 350,000 delivery workers and 500,000 affiliated stores. It’s currently focusing on the expansion of its Turbo segment, which offers delivery times of 10 minutes or less on a choice of nearly 4,000 items, according to Borrero.
The company has been preparing for public listing for months, hiring its first financial chief officer, Tiago Azevedo, in April. When asked about future financing rounds, Borrero said that “ideally” they would now finance growth through revenue, rather than by selling debt or equity.
The company had reached top- and bottom-line projections for the past eight quarters, which “makes us a mature company in terms of what we can promise the market,” Borrero said.
--With assistance from Nicolle Yapur.
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