Indian ride-hailing company Ola set to raise $500m from investors

Uber's rival is also moving towards an initial public offering

While ride-hailing has been hit by Covid-19, Ola says business has rebounded as movement restrictions ease. AP

Indian ride-hailing start-up Ola is raising $500 million from investors including Temasek Holdings and an affiliate of Warburg Pincus ahead of a planned initial public offering (IPO).

The round is one of the largest investments in the consumer internet segment in India, the Uber Technologies rival said.

Ola hasn’t made a decision regarding the timing of its IPO, a company representative said. It will continue to expand across geographies and categories.

India’s consumer internet companies are growing at speed, captivating global investors who are pouring billions of dollars into start-ups, big and small.

While ride-hailing has been hit by the Covid-19 pandemic, Ola said its business has rebounded as restrictions have eased.

“Over the last 12 months, we’ve made our ride-hailing business more robust, resilient and efficient,” founder Bhavish Aggarwal, also the group’s chairman and chief executive, said.

“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.”

Mr Aggarwal also participated in the funding round. Ola’s other backers include SoftBank Group and Tiger Global Management.

Bangalore-based Ola, whose parent is ANI Technologies, also offers rides in Australia, the UK and New Zealand, and has more than one million drivers in more than 100 cities.

The start-up was founded by Mr Aggarwal and his classmate Ankit Bhati, who both studied at the Indian Institute of Technology, the country’s leading engineering school.