Ola, an Indian transportation network company offering services that include peer-to-peer ridesharing, ride service hailing, taxi and food delivery, is in advanced talks with tech giant Microsoft to raise about USD 150-200 million in funding. As per sources, the deal is likely to be closed in the next couple of weeks. Ola is presently backed by investors – Ratan Tata, SoftBank, Tencent Holdings, Hyundai Motor Company, Kia Motors, Sachin Bansal and others.
In 2017, Ola and Microsoft had joined hands to build a new connected vehicle platform for car makers globally. A statement by OLA, then said – “Both companies will collaborate to take this platform to car manufacturers globally to integrate with vehicle systems.” The collaboration was expected to enable both companies to enhance their deep technology partnership in areas like cloud, and emerging mobility technology.
Ola is also planning for expansion in the Bay Area of the US and focus on new areas like e-vehicles and connected cars. The ride-hailing major, which is locked in a battle for market leadership with US-based Uber in India, has raised about USD 3 billion in funding. In September this year, OLA had received Rs 35.8 crore in Series J round from ARK Ola Pre IPO Fund.
Ola is an India’s largest mobility platform and one of the world’s largest ride-hailing companies, has over 7,000 employees and operates in more than 250 cities in India. The company has also expanded overseas and is presently operating in Australia, New Zealand, and the UK.
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