A controversy has erupted in India's digital navigation space as Rohan Verma, CEO and Executive Director of MapmyIndia, has openly criticized Ola's recent announcement of developing a navigational map for India, calling it a "gimmick" and questioning the credibility of its claims. Ola, however, has strongly refuted the allegations, terming them as "baseless" and an attempt by MapmyIndia to remain relevant in the market.
In an interview with PTI following the issuance of a legal notice to Ola Electric, Verma expressed skepticism over Ola's claim that its map, known as Ola Maps, was developed by Geospoc Pvt Ltd, a startup acquired by Ola-parent ANI Technologies. Verma pointed out that developing a digital navigational map for a country as large as India requires substantial investments and expertise, which he doubts Geospoc possesses.
"Building maps is a serious business. It requires long investment of time, capital, and expertise," Verma stated. "World over, despite many trying, you have very few players globally who sustained or succeeded. It is just not possible that someone can just come up and say suddenly that I have created maps without the right track record and bona fides, let alone somebody that has been actively using map data and APIs and SDKs of some other company for multiple years."
Verma also dismissed any risk to MapmyIndia's business due to the introduction of Ola Maps, questioning the quality of Ola's product. "We don't see a business risk because we don't see a good product coming from there. People are complaining left, right, and centre about their (Ola's) updated cab app, their updated electric vehicle app, that their maps are pathetic and causing users problems. Everybody knows that these are more announcements and gimmicks," Verma said.
MapmyIndia's legal notice to Ola, sent on July 23, accused the company of breaching the terms and conditions of a license agreement signed in 2021 for the use of MapmyIndia's APIs (Application Programming Interfaces) and SDKs (software development kits) for navigation. Verma emphasized that ANI Technologies, Ola's parent company, had a longstanding license agreement with MapmyIndia dating back to 2015.
Ola's response to Verma's statements was swift. An Ola spokesperson, while refuting the claims, said, "Ola strongly refutes the baseless and motivated statements made by MapmyIndia. They are a clear indication of the company's desperate attempts to stay relevant by maligning its competitors. The company's single-product business has clearly lost its edge to superior and new-age players."
The spokesperson further added, "Ola has responded to MapmyIndia's legal notice and now the responsibility rests with them to prove their case. Ola stands by the integrity of its business and will take all steps needed to protect its interests."
Ola Electric, in its recent Red Herring Prospectus (RHP) filed ahead of a potential IPO, stated that Ola Maps is owned and supplied by Geospoc Pvt Ltd. Verma, however, challenged this assertion, pointing to the financial and operational limitations of Geospoc and raising doubts about its capability to develop a reliable map product.
"One can and should see Geospoc's bona fides and investments, or actually the lack of them, whether before or after the acquisition by Ola, and then add on the context that Ola Electric licensed MapmyIndia APIs and SDKs...then one really wonders as to the veracity and bona fides and quality and accuracy of Ola's claims about Ola Maps," Verma remarked.
He also questioned Ola's reported use of OpenStreetMap data in developing Ola Maps, cautioning users about the accuracy of such maps. "If any well-meaning Indian goes to visit www.openstreetmap.org, they themselves will realize why it shouldn't be used. The accuracy of these various competitors' maps is definitely something that people will find very much lacking. It's not easy to build an accurate map. On the product side, people should be very careful of these gimmicky, Fly By Night products," Verma warned.