Google has joined investors backing Moving Tech, the parent firm of open-source ride-sharing app Namma Yatri in India that is eroding market share from Uber and Ola with its no-commission model.
Namma Yatri works atop of Open Network for Digital Commerce, an interoperable e-commerce scheme backed by the Indian government. Namma Yatri’s app connects customers with auto-rickshaws and cab drivers without charging either party for rides. Instead, the company collects a small monthly fee from its driver partners.
Uber and Ola, in comparison, pocket as much as 25-30% of the ride cost to drivers. Moving Tech co-founders Magizhan Selvan and Shan M S told TechCrunch that they identified an opportunity after learning about drivers’ frustrations and realizing they were dissatisfied with their treatment in the existing system.
Namma Yatri is operational in more than half a dozen Indian cities including Bengaluru and Hyderabad and has completed over 46 million rides since its launch in 2022, according to its public dashboard. Namma Yatri was originally incubated by Juspay, a SoftBank-backed financial services startup.
India has been pursuing an ambitious strategy over the past decade to digitize its economy and public services through the “India Stack” — a set of open APIs for identity, payments, and data sharing. This government-led initiative aims to create a unified digital infrastructure that can be leveraged by both public and private sectors to deliver services more efficiently and inclusively to India’s 1.4 billion citizens.
Google, which has pledged to invest $10 billion in India, took part in Namma Yatri’s $11 million pre-Series A funding round. Blume Ventures and Antler co-led the investment, the Bengaluru-based startup said in a statement.
Karthik Reddy, a Partner at Blume Ventures, said Moving Tech was at the forefront of transforming mobility “with a 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.”
This is a developing story. Check back for updates.
