Ola raises additional Rs 112 crore from US-based investors as part of $2B round
Bengaluru-based ride hailing platform Ola will use funds to build the reach of electric vehicles, expand and grow Foodpanda, and enhance focus on international markets.
Ola has raised an additional Rs 112 crore as a part of the company's larger $2 billion fund raise, according to its filings in Registrar of Companies (RoC). This round was led by J3 Ventures, Tina & Steven Price, and Raymond S Cahnman, Chairman Transmarket Group. Ola has already raised $74 million led by Steadview Capital and $21 million by Sachin Bansal, Co-Founder Flipkart as a part of this round. The company is now the second highest valued startup in India with a valuation of $6 billion.
Apart from this, reports also suggest that Sachin has committed a total of $100 million to Ola, of which this $21 million is a part. According to the Bengaluru-based ride hailing platform's RoC filings, it has reported a steep rise of 61 percent in revenue. The company has clocked a revenue of Rs 2,223 crore, and narrowed its losses by 42 percent to Rs 2,842 crore.
The larger $2 billion funding raising will be deployed towards building the reach of electric vehicles, expanding and growing Foodpanda, and bringing in a stronger focus on international markets.
In 2017, Ola raised $1.2 billion funding led by Softbank and has, since then, left no stone unturned to capture newer markets. Last year, it also forayed into international markets, starting with Australia and moving on to the UK and New Zealand.
Also read: [YS Exclusive] Ola set to raise $2 billion; will focus on EVs, Foodpanda, and international markets
Speaking of the Indian ride hailing business, a source inside Ola said: “We are marching towards profitability in that sector and will soon become profitable in India.”
Ola is already present across over 11 categories in 110 cities in India, and claims to have over 125 million users in the country. The team claims to have over one million driver-partners in India and, on an aggregate basis, is said to be serving as many as a billion rides every year, through its platform.
However, its rival Uber isn't far behind. The Indian unit of Uber's marketing and support services has reported a 30 percent jump in its revenues in fiscal 2018, according to a Registrar of Companies (RoC) filing. Its revenue for FY 2017-18 is reported to be Rs 533 crore.
Uber, valued at $72 billion, is one of the highest valued unicorns in the startup world today. This is the ride-hailing unicorn's fifth year of operations in the country. Uber India's revenue in the previous year stood at Rs 410 crore.
Ola has also applied for an NBFC licence for its wallet Ola Money. Reports suggest the ride-hailing app is now looking to deepen its short-term credit services, Ola Credit, for riders.
Uber, on the other hand, had filed for an IPO in December. The San-Francisco based giant has also confirmed its expansion plans for 2019. The company intends to strengthen its India operations by hiring an additional 500 engineers. It will be interesting to see how the two firms battle it out in India through the year.