Tata Eyes Tie Up With Uber For Digital Business Push

The Tata Group has kicked off discussions with Uber Technologies for a strategic partnership with an aim to boost traffic volumes and engagement on Tata’s digital platform.

The potential alliance may involve integrating Uber’s services as an ‘anchor app’ within Tata’s ecosystem, ET reported. Tata Neu, positioned as a comprehensive ‘super app,’ has faced hurdles such as stagnant user growth and limited customer engagement.

Uber Technologies CEO Dara Khosrowshahi reportedly met with Tata Sons chairman N Chandrasekaran earlier this year in Davos, and they are anticipated to reconvene during Khosrowshahi’s upcoming trip to India, specifically in Mumbai.

As per the report, they plan to discuss the general framework of a potential alliance. However, the precise terms of engagement are still under negotiation, and there is no assurance that it will result in a definitive agreement.

“Tata Digital needs a big push and scale up to its consumer installs and membership. At the moment, the other brands really can’t get in those kind of numbers,” an executive close to the development said as quoted in the report.

This comes at a time when Uber expects India to emerge as its largest market globally in the next decade as the company moves its focus towards two-wheelers (2W) and three-wheelers (3W).

“We expect to double our presence in India, tap into more geographies, expand our services to include more three- and two-wheelers, which is where the biggest growth will be,” Uber’s global vice-president for public policy Andrew Byrne said last year.

Last year, Uber appointed former investment banker Arnab Kumar as the director of business development for India and South Asia. It has recently expanded its India operations by entering Jammu and Kashmir.

On the other hand, Tata Sons is looking to infuse around $1 Bn into its digital arm Tata Digital over the next few years. In October last year, Tata Group considered an additional investment of $1 Bn in its super app Tata Neu. Tata Sons has invested more than $2 Bn in Neu so far and has board approvals for further capital infusion over five years.

Meanwhile, Tata Digital has appointed Naveen Tahilyani as its new chief executive officer (CEO) and managing director (MD). Tahilyani will take charge on February 19.