Ola & Uber’s Rival, Namma Yatri, Raises ₹92 Cr From Google And Others

Google has invested a total of $11 million (approximately Rs 92 crore) in a pre-Series A fundraising round for Moving Tech, the parent company of Namma Yatri, India's community-led ride-sharing app. Other investors in this round include Blume Ventures and Antler.

Namma Yatri is quickly capturing market share from Uber and Ola with its no-commission model.

Google CEO Sundar Pichai had earlier pledged to invest $10 billion in India in 2020. 

Namma Yatri operates on the Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC), an initiative by the Indian government to democratize e-commerce. 

The startup connects customers with auto-rickshaws and cab drivers without charging for rides and collects a small monthly fee from its driver partners. 

In contrast, Uber and Ola charge their driver partners 25%-30% of the ride cost and have declined to join the ONDC network for their core mobility services.

Namma Yatri's Genesis:

Moving Tech’s co-founders, Magizhan Selvan and Shan M S, saw an opportunity after noticing how frustrated drivers were with the existing system dominated by Uber and Ola in India. 

“There was a lack of differentiated approach,” Shan said, reflecting on the decade-long duopoly that Uber and Ola have enjoyed unchallenged in India. Moving Tech doesn’t offer customer discounts or driver incentives, and it is banking on providing a service that people find genuinely useful, he added.

Karthik Reddy, a partner at Blume Ventures, said Moving Tech has amazed investors with its fresh and innovative model. 

He added, “We were amazed by the simplicity of what the tech and a robust product can do to solve mass mobility. We are glad to partner with an exceptional team and back their grand vision.

Namma Yatri plans to use the new funds to expand its engineering and research and development teams, as well as widen its offerings to include buses.