Ola, one of the most celebrated start-up stories in India can afford this cracking expansion because it is flush with funds, including $1.2 billion from investors over the past four years, according to Venture Intelligence.
Venture capitalists funding to Indian start-ups is down about 30 percent so far this year compared to last year, according to industry estimates. Total funding, for example, in the taxi booking space till mid-November 2016 was just $1 million, compared to over $1 billion in 2015, according to Venture Intelligence.
- India is our single largest market outside of the United States and the merger with Didi has freed up resources for additional focus.” Amit Jain, president of Uber India
- Uber currently plays second fiddle to local player Ola which leads with a near 50 percent market share. Uber has increased its share from 13% in 2014 to over 50% in 2016. Ola also has a far bigger footprint (100+ Indian cities) compared to Uber’s 29.
- The company also faces regulatory challenges due to the federal nature in transport laws in India.
Venture Intelligence is India’s longest serving provider of data and analysis on Private Company Financials, Transactions (private equity, venture capital and M&A) & their Valuations in India.