2015-08-03

Uber Competitor Ola Cabs, Bhavish AggarwalI, CEO Co-Founder (videos)



Startup India: Ola Cabs, Uber Competitor, Bhavish AggarwalI, Co-Founder and CEO (video above) - India's New Age Entrepreneur - Ola Cabs is possibly India’s most successful startup story yet in the tech world. In this episode of e-Inc, Bloomberg TV India’s Abha Bakaya speaks to Bhavish Aggarwal, Co-Founder and CEO, Ola Cabs. Listen to Aggarwal's journey from the start-up of Ola to where it is today.  (Published on July 30, 2015)

Uber to plough $1bn into India investment drive - FT.com (July 30, 2015): "Uber is set to plough $1bn [USD $1 billion] into a major expansion in India, placing its investment in the country on a par with China and signalling an escalation of its rivalry with domestic ride-sharing Ola ...Thursday’s announcement marks the latest salvo in Uber's battle to match fast-growing local competitors in both China and India, as it pours funds into its two most important growth markets..."

Uber’s investment into India comes as Ola is closing a new round of financing--it has already raised US$400 million at a valuation of close to $2.4 billion. Backers of Ola include Japan's SoftBank and US investor group Tiger Global. According to the Financial Times (FT.com supra), one of Ola’s financial backers commented about Uber's investment in India: “It’s obviously an attempt to intimidate potential investors in Ola’s next round. But it won’t work. Ola is going to have plenty of money to fight back.”

Why Would Microsoft Invest in Uber? (July 31) -- Homebrew VC Partner Hunter Walk, Technalysis Founder Bob O’Donnell and IDC Chief Research Officer Crawford Del Prete examine Microsoft considering an investment in Uber. They speak with Bloomberg’s Emily Chang and Dina Bass on “Bloomberg West.” (Source: Bloomberg)

See also: 

Microsoft Said to Invest About $100 Million in Startup Uber - Bloomberg Business July 31, 2015"Microsoft Corp. has agreed to invest about $100 million in Uber Technologies Inc. at a valuation of approximately $50 billion, a person with knowledge of the matter said. The deal was finalized earlier on Friday, said the person, who asked not to be identified discussing a private deal."

Lyft foregoes global expansion in favor of U.S. market domination - San Jose Mercury News"Lyft's decision to dial back earlier promises is the result of pressure from investors, insufficient cash reserves and the desire to further distinguish itself from Uber, the gorilla of ride-booking companies, say analysts, investors and industry experts."

Didi Kuaidi, Uber’s Arch Rival In China, Confirms It Raised $2B In Fresh Funding | TechCrunch"Didi Kuaidi didn’t disclose its full investor list, but those being made public include new backers Capital International Private Equity Fund and Ping An Ventures, in addition to existing investors Alibaba, Tencent, Temasek, and Coatue Management."

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