Tekne Private Ventures, a branch of hedge fund sponsor Tekne Capital Management, has invested Rs 2.31bn ($36m) in Ola, the India-based on-demand ride platform backed by corporates SoftBank and Didi Chuxing.
A sub-$50m investment by Tekne was initially reported in June 2017 but the precise amount was revealed by a regulatory filing. Ola is currently raising up to $600m in a series G round that already includes telecommunications group SoftBank, RNT Capital Advisors and Falcon Edge Capital.
Originally known as Olacabs, Ola runs an app-based ride hailing service that reaches across 110 Indian cities, and it competes chiefly against US-based Uber. Prospective investors in the series G round reportedly also include internet group Tencent and software provider Microsoft.
Ola had raised roughly $1.25bn before this year, and SoftBank initially invested in 2014, supplying $210m in series D funding. SoftBank and Chinese on-demand ride service Didi Chuxing were among the participants in Ola’s last round, a $500m series F in late 2015.
Baillie Gifford, Falcon Edge Capital, Tiger Global Management, DST Global, Steadview Capital, ABG Capital, Fii Ltr Focus Fund, JS Capital, Parkwood Bespin, GIC and Vanguard Group are also among the company’s investors.