SoftBank is all set to invest Rs. 2000 crore in homegrown taxi hailing service Ola, according to a latest report from Economic Times. Ola may raise USD 250-300 million in a new round of funding led by the Japanese telecom and Internet major, and other existing investors may also participate.
In November last year, Ola secured $500 million in funding in November last year which valued it at about $5 billion. Ola currently claims reach across 102 cities, allowing users to book from over 450,000 vehicles on board. The latest round of funding comes at a time when Uber is stepping up its investment in the country.
ET quoted another source as saying.
SoftBank is leading the new round and the first tranche will close in a few days. There will be an external process that will be launched now and Ola will keep the round open.
Uber was aiming to get to 50 cities by the end of 2016. The US based taxi hailing company has invested around $30 million in India, which will go up to $45-50 million as it will ramp up expansion in the country. Uber has said it will aggressively ramp up its operations in India after it exited China in July. Uber China was acquired by Didi Chuxing in August last year.