Ola raises $500 million, race with Uber takes top gear

The race between two taxi aggregators, Ola and Uber, is getting interesting and full of sharp turns.

The valuation of Ola, which is the number one app-only taxi booking company in India, has increased now. After the recent $500 million, or Rs 3,300 crore fundraise, Ola is now a $5 billion firm.

This funding round was important for Ola, whose value was $2.5 billion in April, to overpower Uber.

Ola is penetrating into Indian market like never before and has operations in over 100 cities, getting most of the revenue from 20 cities including Delhi, Mumbai and Bengaluru.

Among others, one of the major investors of Ola was China's biggest taxi aggregator Didi Kuaidi, which is looking to dethrone Uber globally.

“As we pursue our mission to build mobility for a billion people, we are excited about bringing onboard partners who can help us get there faster. We will continue to build for the local market through innovative solution,” said cofounder and chief executive Bhavish Aggarwal.
Meanwhile, Uber, which is world's most valuable startup with an estimated worth of about $50 billion, is closing in the gap and is also said to invest $1 billion in India.

Both, Ola and Uber, have nearly 2,50,000 drivers in India.

(Image: Indiatimes)