Indian cab-hailing service Ola is in talks to raise up to $500 million in a fresh round of funding led by existing investor SoftBank as the company seeks to maintain its lead over cash-rich rival Uber. "SoftBank is very keen on backing Ola but there are chances of a new investor coming in as well," said a source.
After it agreed to sell its China business to ride-hailing company Didi Chuxing, the US-based taxi hailing venture is doubling on India, making it crucial for Ola to raise fresh capital.
According to the TOI report, Ola also held preliminary discussions with automobile giant General Motors, an investor in Uber's cross town competitor Lyft, a few months ago. GM's CEO Mary Barra had met with the taxihailing startup Ola's co-founder & CEOBhavish Aggarwal in San Francisco a few months ago, but the talks with the automaker may not result in an investment in the company, sources said.
Recently, SoftBank led a $750 million investment in Southeast Asian transport firm Grab. "Even after Nikesh's departure, Masa is very bullish on Ola and is ready to lead the round. But the deal contours are not final as yet," added sources.
Last year, Ola had raised $500 million in fresh funding from investment management firm Baillie Gifford, China’s largest taxi hailing service company Didi Kuaidi and existing investors Falcon Edge Capital, Tiger Global, SoftBank Group and DST Global, at a valuation of around $5 billion. With the last round of funding, the company has raised over $1.3 billion of external funding, of which over $1.2 billion has been raised over the past year. The firm is also backed by Matrix Partners, Steadview Capital, Sequoia India and Accel Partners US.
After it agreed to sell its China business to ride-hailing company Didi Chuxing, the US-based taxi hailing venture is doubling on India, making it crucial for Ola to raise fresh capital.
According to the TOI report, Ola also held preliminary discussions with automobile giant General Motors, an investor in Uber's cross town competitor Lyft, a few months ago. GM's CEO Mary Barra had met with the taxihailing startup Ola's co-founder & CEOBhavish Aggarwal in San Francisco a few months ago, but the talks with the automaker may not result in an investment in the company, sources said.
Recently, SoftBank led a $750 million investment in Southeast Asian transport firm Grab. "Even after Nikesh's departure, Masa is very bullish on Ola and is ready to lead the round. But the deal contours are not final as yet," added sources.
Last year, Ola had raised $500 million in fresh funding from investment management firm Baillie Gifford, China’s largest taxi hailing service company Didi Kuaidi and existing investors Falcon Edge Capital, Tiger Global, SoftBank Group and DST Global, at a valuation of around $5 billion. With the last round of funding, the company has raised over $1.3 billion of external funding, of which over $1.2 billion has been raised over the past year. The firm is also backed by Matrix Partners, Steadview Capital, Sequoia India and Accel Partners US.
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