Indian ride-hailing giant Ola is shutting down its operations in the UK, Australia and New Zealand, six years after expanding to international markets as it shifts focus to shoring up its domestic business ahead of an initial public offering.
An Ola spokesperson told TechCrunch that the SoftBank-backed ride-hailing startup sees “immense opportunity for expansion in India,” where it operates in hundreds of cities and offers a range of transportation options, including two-wheelers.
“With this clear focus, we’ve reassessed our priorities and have decided to shut down our overseas ride-hailing business in its current form in the UK, Australia and New Zealand,” the spokesperson added.
The startup plans to file for an initial public offering after the public listing of Ola Electric, the leading electric two-wheeler brand in India that spun out of Ola.
Ola Electric is looking to raise $662 million from its IPO in India, according to paperwork it filed late last year.
Krutrim, an AI startup founded by Ola founder Bhavish Aggarwal, said it has raised a funding round that values it at $1 billion.
It’s also the first Indian AI startup to become a unicorn, it said.
Matrix Partners India — which has also backed Aggarwal’s other two startups, ride-hailing firm Ola and EV startup Ola Electric — led the $50 million “first round” in Krutrim, it said Friday.
The startup plans to launch a conversational AI assistant that understands and speaks multiple Indian languages, the startup said.
The startup plans to make a beta version of its eponymous chatbot available to consumers next month and follow it with rolling out APIs to developers and enterprises.
India’s Ola Electric seeks to raise $661.8 million in an initial public offering, the Bengaluru-headquartered startup said in draft papers filed with the country’s market regulator on Friday.
The paperwork for the initial public offering follows Ola Electric raising $384 million from Temasek and Indian government-backed lender State Bank of India in a debt-heavy funding round in late October.
Led by Aggarwal, Ola Electric emerged out of the ride-hailing giant Ola in 2019.
He is also the Chairman and Managing Director of ANI Technologies Private Limited and has recently founded a new startup, Krutrim SI Designs Private Limited.
His involvement with ANI Technologies Private Limited and Krutrim SI Designs Private Limited may detract from the time that he is able to dedicate to our Company,” the prospectus added.
