Google invests in Indian open-source app that rivals Ola and Uber: Report

Google has invested in Moving Tech, the parent company of the Indian open-source ridesharing app Namma Yatri. The Bengaluru-based startup raised $11 million in a pre-Series A funding round, co-led by Blume Ventures and Antler. Google, committed to investing $10 billion in India, participated in this round, according to a report by TechCrunch. Namma Yatri operates on the Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC), a government-backed initiative to democratise e-commerce in India.

Unlike Uber and Ola, Namma Yatri does not charge commission fees. Instead, it connects customers with auto-rickshaws and cab drivers for a small monthly fee from its driver partners. Uber and Ola charge drivers 25 per cent-30 per cent of the ride cost and have not joined the ONDC network. Namma Yatri was launched in 2022 and has completed over 46 million rides across multiple Indian cities, including Bengaluru and Hyderabad.

Moving Tech’s co-founders, Magizhan Selvan and Shan M S, saw an opportunity to address drivers' frustrations with these established companies. Moving Tech aims to offer a genuinely useful service without customer discounts or driver incentives. To understand drivers’ challenges, co-founder Selvan claimed to have driven over 500 auto-rickshaw rides. The company claims this exercise helped them become more empathetic towards the drivers. 

The company Moving Tech claims to be operationally profitable and does not foresee the need to raise substantial capital. The startup was incubated by Juspay, a SoftBank-backed financial services company. With the new funding, Namma Yatri plans to expand its engineering and R&D teams and explore additional transportation options, including buses.

What is ONDC?

The Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC) is an initiative by the Government of India aimed at promoting open networks developed on open-sourced methodology. This means it allows buyers and sellers from various e-commerce platforms to connect and transact with each other, regardless of the platform they use.

Think of it as a big online marketplace where small and large businesses can showcase their products, and customers can find what they need, all without being restricted to a single e-commerce website. This helps in creating a level playing field for all sellers, especially small businesses and local shops, by giving them a fair chance to reach a larger customer base.