Olas electric division becomes Indias newest unicorn with $250m SoftBank investment
- Tuesday, July 2nd, 2019
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Indian ride-hailing giant Ola has picked up $250m from SoftBank for its electric vehicle (EV) business. The series B funding round sees Ola Electric Mobility join the likes of its parent Ola, Flipkart, Paytm, and Zomato as being Indian companies valued at $1bn or over, making it the country’s latest tech unicorn.
Ola spun out its EV division earlier this year, raising Rs. 400 crore (£43m/$56m at the time) in funding round from some of its existing investors, including Tiger Global and Matrix India. The business aims to bring 1m electric vehicles to Indian roads by 2022 and will also focus on introducing charging and battery swapping networks. 
The latest investment from SoftBank adds to its existing investment in Ola’s main ride-hailing business, where it is the single largest investor. The Japanese conglomerate holding company has never shied away from investing in ride-hailing businesses and has also previously picked up stakes in Uber and Grab, as well as teaming in up with Didi Chuxing in Japan to introduce platform services for the taxi industry.
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