Industry watchers say while it's completely possible for a firm like SoftBank to step in and take control of Ola, it's usually one of the least favoured options.
'All these incidents go to show that the day of the anodyne, apolitical corporation is running out fast,' says Kanika Datta.
The Bengaluru-based firm competes with US rival Uber whose lukewarm IPO last year has contributed to the lag in valuation trend among the unicorns across the Indian start-up ecosystem.
TaxiForSure's Aprameya Radhakrishna's new venture, Vokal, is a peer-to-peer content generation platform that is a cross between Reddit and Quora.
Uber launches initiatives to address drivers' woes on its 4th birthday
The new tranche of funding raises Ola's valuation to $5.74 billion from $4.45 billion in October 2017
'Tens of millions will be working from home for months at a time, which means the smartest brains in business will be focussed on creating more efficient WFH processes,' predicts Devangshu Datta.
The investor has now put together a fund of $3.75 billion to back private companies.
Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi says the younger generation doesn't dream of owning a car, but instead wants the freedom of having any service on demand.
From auto, refrigerator, and mobile handset makers to real estate firms, companies are tying up with banks to dole out attractive finance schemes and discounts to make buying more affordable.
The aim is to replace nearly 40 per cent of its existing last mile fleet of delivery vans with EVs by March 2020. o start with, the company is looking at deploying nearly 160 e-vans by the end of 2019.
Every home across India makes khichdi and it still isn't as celebrated as it should be.
Using Microsoft's Cognitive Services, the selfie is compared to the one corresponding with the account on file. If the two photos do not match, the account is temporarily blocked while Uber looks into the matter.
Though startups find 17 mentions in the Budget speech of the finance minister, and have been promised tax exemptions, the reality is that only 2 per cent of the 4,648 applications received from startups for income tax exemption had been approved as of February 2019, according to an answer to a Parliament question. As India's startup space bubbles with activity - new, young players are tapping into opportunities opening up - there are local anti-portfolio stories circulating about investors missing opportunities in 'unicorns', or companies that have reached valuation of $ 1 billion, says Vandana Gombar.
With the deal closing, SoftBank becomes an investor in two of India's largest on-demand cab service -- Uber and Ola.
Swiggy is shoring up capital to defend its position as India's largest food-ordering app as rivals Zomato and FoodPanda focus on growth after receiving funds
The company did not disclose the valuations at which funds were raised.
This comes at a time when Ola is looking to replicate nationally the success of its auto-rickshaw offering in Chennai and Bengaluru.
India turns talent backyard for Southeast Asian taxi apps to fight Uber.
Under the ambit of probe is how former exec Eric Alexander obtained medical records of woman who was raped by an Uber driver in Delhi in 2014
The deal brings the two start-up stalwarts - Bansal and Ola co-founder and chief executive officer Bhavish Aggarwal - together in the backdrop of growing foreign control in this space.
For India startups, pulling in the reins now may enable them to live longer - even if it means shedding their unicorn status, says Una Galani.
Though fundraisings for startups still rank amongst the biggest deals struck this year, the average ticket size has fallen sharply, says Una Galani.
Quelling fears of a takeover by Ola, which is also funded by Uber's major investor SoftBank Group, the US-based cab aggregating giant made it clear that the company was not ceding its position in India, one of its core markets.
Growing the number of electric vehicles on Ola's platform is part of the terms SoftBank has put forth for the funding
Uber is locked in an intense battle with market leader Ola, which counts Didi as an investor.
Cook's visit, following a trip to China, comes at a crucial time as Apple looks for new growth markets after posting its first ever decline in iPhone sales
Software developers who tried on an Apple Watch for the first time on Friday predicted a rush of new apps over the next few months.
Foodpanda delivery executives were assured they could make Rs 50,000. There were promises made on surge and demand. But the demand never kept up with the supply.
The new feature is up and running in Nagpur, Guwahati and Jodhpur
The Taiwanese maker is adopting a model of setting up smartphone assembly lines in multiple cities across India.
The cloud kitchen market in India will hit $1.05 billion by 2023. Just 13% of the total market has been utilised so far.
Drawn in by fuzzy promises about unleashing the entrepreneur in each of us and the benefits of being one's own boss, people find themselves instead oppressed by an algorithm, notes Rahul Jacob.
The taxi-hailing company said it will challenge the decision, which shows the world that "far from being open, London is closed to innovative companies".
The community has taken offence to being wrongly stereotyped as watchmen in the ad which also plays on an exaggerated Hindi accent to seem funny
Raghu Krishnan profiles the man in the eye of the storm at Infosys.
Nikesh Arora is one of the highest-paid business leaders globally.
Both Indian firms have been in talks with investors for nearly a year to raise fresh funds of as much as $ 1 billion, but with little success so far.
Both Uber and Rapido have an SOS button installed in the app which are monitored by their teams
The Fortune's 40 under 40 list for this year was topped by Adam Neuman, Co-founder and CEO, WeWork.
© 2026 Rediff.com - Investor Information - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances