Uber rival Ola invests $100mn in scooter-sharing startup Vogo
Indian ride-hailing firm Ola, one of the largest competitors to Uber, has announced that it will invest US$100mn in a scooter-sharing startup called Vogo.
Through the investment, Vogo will be able to add 100,000 new scooters to its fleet, allowing the two-year-old business to rapidly scale in size.
Additionally, Vogo’s offerings will be added to the Ola app, making it available to its customer base of more than 150mn people.
Ola invested in Vogo as part of the firm’s Series A fundraising which saw participation from Matrix Partners India as well as stellaris Venture Partners.
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Commenting on the investment, Bhavish Aggarwal, Co-founder and CEO of Ola said: “Ola is committed to building a robust mobility ecosystem in India, creating a deep impact on livelihoods and how citizens get around.
“Vogo’s automated scooter-sharing platform, backed by Ola’s expertise in this space can help transform our cities.
“Together, we are thrilled to be at the forefront of India’s rapidly growing micro-mobility market.”
Currently present in Bengaluru and Dyderabad, Vogo allows users to pick-up and drop-off scooters at around 200 points in northern India.
Each bike is equipped with an Internet of Things (IoT) device. This provides commuters with a one-time passcode which is needed to obtain the key to unlock the bike.
“Vogo has seen rapid growth in the last 5 months, growing over 10x in scale,” added Anand Ayyadurai, Vogo’s founder and CEO.
“We are thrilled to have Ola join us on this journey and help turbocharge our growth by providing us access to strategic and capital efficient supply as well as access to millions of customers on its platform in the time to come.”
