India-based ride hailing service Ola has raised $500m in a round featuring China-based counterpart Didi Kuaidi and telecommunications and internet group SoftBank, the Economic Times reported today.
The series F round was led by investment management firm Baillie Gifford, and included hedge fund sponsor Falcon Edge Capital, and investment firms Tiger Global Management and DST Global.
A TechCrunch report in September, at which time Ola had raised $225m of the round, stated Steadview Capital, ABG Capital, Fii Ltr Focus Fund, JS Capital, Parkwood Bespin and Daniel Neary had also contributed funding, though none were identified in the ET report.
Ola operates an app-based ride sharing service similar to that of US-based Uber, with which it is competing fiercely in its home market. Uber has pledged to invest $1bn in building its India-based business this year.
Ola plans to invest the latest capital in building supply capacity and doubling down on its existing markets. The round reportedly values it at $5bn.
The round follows a $400m series E round in April this year led by DST Global that also featured SoftBank, Falcon Edge, Tiger Global, Steadview, Accel Partners and the Singaporean state-owned GIC.
SoftBank had previously invested $210m in Ola, then known as Olacabs, in October 2014 at a $1bn valuation. Ola has now raised approximately $1.18bn since it was founded in 2011.