India-based on-demand ride provider Ola confirmed today that it has raised $1.1bn in a funding round led by internet company Tencent.
Internet and telecom group SoftBank also participated in the round, as did undisclosed US-based investors. Ola is in talks with additional parties in a bid to add another $1bn, taking the size of the round above the $2bn mark.
Founded in 2011 as Olacabs, Ola has built an app-based ride hailing service covers 14 categories from luxury cars and taxis to auto rickshaws and shuttle buses, and the company is present in 110 Indian cities.
The funding will go to beefing up Ola’s technology, with a particular focus on artificial intelligence and machine learning, which it believes can benefit India’s mobility space as a whole. It is the only ride sharing service to have built a dedicated connected car platform, Ola Play.
Tencent invested $400m of the cash, according to an Economic Times report last week that stated the round valued Ola at $3.8bn. SoftBank reportedly provided $250m in November 2016, and the round also includes RNT Capital Advisors, Falcon Edge Capital and Tekne Capital Management.
Martin Lau, Tencent’s president, said: “Ola’s unique local offerings are tailored to India’s burgeoning transportation needs. The strategic partnership with Ola makes it possible for Tencent to be part of the fast-growing ride hailing space in the country. We look forward to helping Ola further develop India’s transportation solutions.”
Ola has now raised $2.35bn in total, having pulled in $500m from a November 2015 series F round led by Baillie Gifford that included SoftBank, China-based ride hailing platform Didi Chuxing, Falcon Edge, Tiger Global Management and DST Global.
DST Global had already led the company’s $400m series E round seven months earlier, investing alongside SoftBank, Falcon Edge, Tiger Global, GIC, Steadview Capital and Accel.
SoftBank had initially provided $210m of funding for Ola in 2014, and the company’s earlier backers include JS Capital, ABG Capital, Parkwood Bespin, Fii Ltr Focus Fund and Vanguard Group.