Rappi: What It Does, Who Runs It, Funding and News

At a glance

Rappi is a delivery app for Latin America, based in Bogotá, Colombia, that brings restaurant meals, groceries, pharmacy items and other goods to customers' doors and also offers payment and card products. Simón Borrero, Sebastián Mejía and Felipe Villamarín founded it in 2015, and it went through Y Combinator in Winter 2016. It is privately held.

The Merlin team5 min read

Rappi is a privately held delivery company headquartered in Bogotá, Colombia. Its app lets people order from restaurants, supermarkets, pharmacies and other stores, with couriers delivering the orders, and its site lists operations in nine Latin American countries. Simón Borrero, a co-founder, is CEO, according to Y Combinator's company page.

This page sets out Rappi's basic facts, its products, its founders and CEO, the money it has raised, and its announcements since spring 2025.

Rappi key facts

Rappi basics, checked October 2026

Detail

Source

Founded

2015, in Bogotá

YC company page, TechCrunch, July 2021

Founders

Simón Borrero, Sebastián Mejía, Felipe Villamarín

YC company page

CEO

Simón Borrero, co-founder

YC company page, Bloomberg Línea, May 2025

Headquarters

Bogotá, Colombia

YC company page

Countries

Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Mexico, Peru, Uruguay

Rappi's site footer

Team size

4,800, as listed by YC (undated)

YC company page

Accelerator

Y Combinator, Winter 2016

YC company page

Last priced valuation

$5.25 billion, July 2021

TechCrunch

Ownership

Private; the site's copyright line names Rappi Inc.

Rappi's site

Website

rappi.com

Sources give slightly different founding years. YC, TechCrunch and an August 2025 Forbes Colombia report say 2015, while a June 2025 Forbes Colombia interview says 2016, the year Rappi went through YC. Forbes Colombia put Rappi's footprint at more than 350 cities in August 2025.

What Rappi does

Rappi runs a delivery marketplace that connects customers with independent couriers who pick up and bring orders, as YC's page describes it. Its Mexican site lists these main offerings:

  • Restaurants. Meal delivery from local restaurants and large chains.
  • Groceries and stores. Supermarkets, pharmacy, liquor, general stores and an Express category.
  • Turbo. Fast delivery of groceries and other goods. Borrero told Forbes Colombia in June 2025 that Turbo deliveries averaged 10.6 minutes across Rappi's nine countries.
  • Travel. A Rappi Travel section.
  • Payments. Rappi Card in Mexico, linked from the site through rappipay.mx; Banorte bought the RappiCard operation in Mexico, with Rappi earning commissions (see the news below). Bloomberg reported that Rappi also offers a digital wallet, plus credit cards and savings accounts in places like Colombia.

The company started with beverage delivery and then added meals, groceries, tech goods and medicine, according to TechCrunch.

Who runs Rappi

Simón Borrero, a co-founder, is Rappi's CEO. YC lists him as Founder/CEO, and Bloomberg Línea interviewed him in that role in May 2025.

Rappi founders and their roles

Name

Role

Source

Simón Borrero

Co-founder and CEO

YC, Bloomberg Línea

Sebastián Mejía

Co-founder; president until April 2025, now a board member

Forbes Colombia, April 12, 2025

Felipe Villamarín

Co-founder

YC

Mejía announced in April 2025 that he was stepping away from his operating role as president after nearly a decade, and that he would stay on Rappi's board, Forbes Colombia reported. The sources read for this page don't give Villamarín's current title.

Rappi funding history

Rappi has raised more than $2.2 billion, according to Bloomberg Línea in May 2025; Forbes Colombia put the total at $2.43 billion across 13 rounds in August 2025. Its backers include Sequoia Capital, Andreessen Horowitz, T. Rowe Price, SoftBank and Y Combinator. Below are the rounds whose amounts were made public.

Selected Rappi funding events

Event

Date

Amount

Lead, detail or source

Round valuing Rappi above $1 billion

2018

$200 million

TechCrunch, April 2019

SoftBank investment

Announced April 30, 2019

$1 billion

$500 million each from SoftBank Group and its Vision Fund (TechCrunch)

Funding round

September 2020

$300 million

Mentioned by TechCrunch in 2021

Series F

July 2021

Over $500 million

Led by T. Rowe Price at a $5.25 billion valuation (TechCrunch)

Senior secured loan

August 20, 2025

$100 million

From Banco Santander and Kirkoswald; Rappi's largest debt financing (Forbes Colombia)

Amazon convertible note

Reported September 8, 2025

$25 million, per a person familiar with the matter

Warrants for up to 12% if milestones are met; neither company commented (Bloomberg, as republished by TT News)

In May 2025 Borrero said Rappi had been profitable for four straight quarters, reinvested all of its profits and did not need new investment for now, Bloomberg Línea reported.

Rappi news, 2025 to 2026

  • April 12, 2025: Co-founder Sebastián Mejía left the presidency and stayed on the board (Forbes Colombia).
  • April 2025: Rappi agreed to sell its RappiCard operation in Mexico to Grupo Financiero Banorte for $50 million, with a 15-year commercial agreement under which Rappi keeps earning commissions (Bloomberg Línea). Bloomberg Línea later reported that the purchase closed in December 2025.
  • May 22, 2025: Borrero said Rappi might find conditions for a stock market listing toward the end of 2026 and was weighing three new markets, likely in Latin America (Bloomberg Línea).
  • August 20, 2025: Rappi secured a $100 million senior secured loan from Banco Santander and Kirkoswald for growth, refinancing and working capital (Forbes Colombia).
  • September 8, 2025: Bloomberg reported that Amazon had bought a stake in Rappi through a convertible note. Amazon already gave Prime members in Mexico a year of free shipping through Rappi, and Rappi is an Amazon Web Services customer (TT News).
  • March 17, 2026: Rappi signed Formula 1 driver Sergio "Checo" Pérez for a year-long campaign in Mexico promoting Turbo (El CEO).
  • May 25, 2026: Mexico's Comisión Nacional Antimonopolio fined Banorte and Rappi MXN 19.9 million for not getting prior approval for their 2020 credit card venture. Rappi said it respects Mexican authorities; Banorte said it would evaluate a legal challenge (Bloomberg Línea).
  • July 16, 2026: Colombian filings compiled by the Superintendencia de Sociedades showed Rappi's net profit of 210,176 million pesos (about 210 billion) for 2025, up from 97,250 million pesos in 2024, its first profitable year (La República).
  • July 23, 2026: Rappi said it handled more than eight million restaurant orders during the 43 days of the 2026 World Cup, with Turbo averaging 65,000 orders a day (Portafolio).

As of October 2026, no source read for this page reported a filing for an initial public offering.

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Frequently asked questions

Who founded Rappi?

Simón Borrero, Sebastián Mejía and Felipe Villamarín founded Rappi in Bogotá in 2015. The company went through Y Combinator's Winter 2016 batch.

Who is the CEO of Rappi?

Simón Borrero, one of the three co-founders, is Rappi's CEO, according to Y Combinator's company page and his 2025 interviews with Bloomberg Línea and Forbes Colombia.

Is Rappi a public company?

No. Rappi is privately held. Its CEO said in 2025 that a listing could come toward the end of 2026 if market conditions allow.

Who owns Rappi?

Rappi is privately held. Its investors include SoftBank, Sequoia Capital, Andreessen Horowitz, T. Rowe Price and Y Combinator, and Bloomberg reported in September 2025 that Amazon bought a stake. Co-founder Sebastián Mejía remains a shareholder, Bloomberg Línea reported in 2025.

What countries does Rappi operate in?

Rappi's site lists nine: Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Mexico, Peru and Uruguay.

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