[Funding alert] Ahead of Ola's IPO, Temasek, Warburg Pincus partner with Bhavish Aggarwal for $500M investment

Ola — the Bengaluru-based ride-hailing and mobility company — on Friday said that Temasek and Plum Wood Investment Ltd, an affiliate of Warburg Pincus, are partnering with founder Bhavish Aggarwal for a $500 million investment ahead of Ola’s IPO. In fact, the founder is also investing in the unicorn in this round.

This investment marks one of the largest in the consumer internet space, the company said in a press note. Ola said the funding is a testament to its resilient business. The company now aims to scale up across various categories and geographies in its ride-hailing business.

ALSO READ

Scooter production to begin soon, says Ola CEO Bhavish Aggarwal

Bhavish Aggarwal, Chairman and Group CEO, Ola, said, “Over the last 12 months, we’ve made our ride-hailing business more robust, resilient, and efficient. With strong recovery post lockdown and a shift in consumer preference away from public transportation, we are well-positioned to capitalise on the various urban mobility needs of our customers. I welcome Warburg Pincus and Temasek to Ola and look forward to collaborating with them in our next phase of growth." 

Vishal Mahadevia, Managing Director and Head of India, Warburg Pincus, said, “Warburg is excited to partner with Bhavish and Ola. They are the leading mobility platform and one of the biggest consumer internet platforms in India with a robust and fast-growing business. We look forward to collaborating with Bhavish and the team in the next phase of Ola’s growth.”

Earlier on Wednesday, Bhavish had said that Ola will soon commence the production of electric scooters at its factory in Tamil Nadu.

The unicorn is strongly focussed on sustainable mobility through its ride-hailing platform and advanced electric vehicles manufactured at its Futurefactory — one of the largest, most advanced, and sustainable two-wheeler factories in the world.

Last month, Bhavish had said the first phase of Ola's electric scooter factory was nearing completion. Ola had announced a Rs 2,400-crore investment last year for setting up its first electric scooter factory in Tamil Nadu.

Upon completion, the factory will create nearly 10,000 jobs and is expected to be the world's largest scooter manufacturing facility, which will initially have an annual production capacity of two million units.