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Indian cab & auto booking startup, Ola, is in advanced stages for closing a $500 Mn (about INR 3150 Cr) funding round from its existing investors to maintain its leadership in the market against its closest competitor, Uber.
According to the people familiar with the investments, the deal could be finalised in about a month’s time and will value the company at about the company to $4.5 Bn. Ola is currently valued at $2.5 Bn.
Ola’s Fundings uptil now:
A person close the development told ET, “Ola will need to burn more cash to maintain its market leadership position as Uber gets more aggressive in India.” It is estimated that Ola will spend the funding in developing new business and discounting for customers.
Ola has come a long way since its launch in 2011 by IIT-Bombay graduates Bhavish Aggarwal and Ankit Bhati. Presently, the company has operations in more than 100 cities in India and is aiming for gross revenue of $1 Bn by the end of 2015.
In a bid to drive greater revenue and diversify its business, Ola has ventured into several new categories including on demand bus aggregation, auto booking and food and grocery delivery. Besides, the company is currently working on several new initiatives, including carpooling, ecommerce on-demand deliveries and logistics.
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