Vanguard Slashes Ola’s Valuation By Another 29% To $1.8 Bn

US-based Vanguard has reportedly once again slashed the valuation of Bhavish Aggarwal-led Ola Cabs. The investment firm has marked down the valuation of the Bengaluru-based cab aggregator by another 29% to $1.88 Bn on its books from $2.65 Bn earlier.

According to an ET report, this is a 74% mark down from Ola’s peak valuation of around $7.3 Bn. 

The markdown comes almost two months after Vanguard slashed Ola’s valuation to approximately $2.65 Bn. Overall, this is the sixth valuation markdown of Ola by Vanguard. 

It must be noted that valuation methodologies vary from investor to investor and Vanguard slashing the valuation does not necessarily mean that it would be perceived negatively by other investors. However, it may have a ripple effect. 

The development comes nearly a month after Inc42 reported that ANI Technologies, the parent entity of Ola Cabs, reduced its consolidated net loss by 49.2% to INR 772.2 Cr in the financial year ended March 31, 2023 from INR 1,522.3 Cr in FY22. 

The core business of ANI Technologies – cab-hailing business – reported a 63% increase in sales to INR 1,987.5 Cr in FY23 from INR 1,220 Cr in FY22. Its net loss declined 64.8% to INR 1,082.5 Cr during the year under review from INR 3,082.4 Cr in FY22. This decline in net loss was also reflected in the consolidated numbers of the parent company. 

A few days ago, Ola also said that its India mobility business broke even with a ‘segment-adjusted’ EBITDA of about INR 250 Cr in FY23 against an EBITDA loss of INR 66 Cr in the year-ago period. 

The markdown also comes at a time when the startup is facing competition from the likes of Uber and new startups such as BluSmart and Rapido. Besides, the Karnataka government on Sunday announced a new fare structure for cab aggregators which will ensure uniform cab fares across the state. 

Ola Cabs has raised around $4 Bn in funding till date and counts the likes of SoftBank, Alpha Wave, and Temasek among its backers. 

Meanwhile, Aggarwal’s another startup, Ola Electric, filed its draft red herring prospectus (DRHP) with the market regulator SEBI last month for an over INR 7,000 Cr IPO. 

Besides, Aggarwal’s nine-month old AI startup Krutrim entered the unicorn club last fund with its maiden funding round of $50 Mn earlier this year. 

The valuation markdown for Ola Cabs comes at a time when investors have been on a spree of valuation cuts amid the ongoing funding winter. Earlier, unicorns like PharmEasy, BYJU’S, Swiggy, Meesho, among others, also saw their investors slashing their valuations multiple times.

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