Ola News | Sep 05, 2024

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Company name: Ola

Company website: olacabs.com

Company overview: Ola is India’s largest mobility platform and one of the world’s largest ride-hailing companies, serving 250+ cities across India, Australia, New Zealand, and the UK. The Ola app offers mobility solutions by connecting customers to drivers and a wide range of vehicles across bikes, auto-rickshaws, metered taxis, and cabs, enabling convenience and transparency for consumers and driver-partners. Ola also has additional services like Ola Electric, Ola Fleet Technologies, Ola Skilling, Ola Financial Services, and a food business.

Latest Updates

• Ola Electric is set to launch a new three-wheeler called 'Rahhi' in the coming months, as confirmed by CEO Bhavish Aggarwal.
• Bhavish Aggarwal, Chairman and MD of Ola Electric, announced plans to launch a three-wheeler and establish several hundred non-company-owned outlets across the country.
• Ola Groceries is now live in Bangalore, offering fresh and high-quality products.
• The district consumer disputes redressal commission has ordered Ola Electric to pay INR 50,000 in compensation to a Sundargarh district resident for deficiency in service and mental agony, refund the e-scooter's cost or replace it, and pay INR 10,000 in legal costs within 30 days.
• A district consumer disputes commission directed Ola Electric to pay ₹50,000 to a Sundargarh man for service deficiency and mental agony.
• A woman has filed a plea in the Karnataka High Court demanding an inquiry into a sexual harassment complaint against an Ola driver and the suspension of Ola's aggregator license.
• Bhavish Aggarwal, founder and CMD of Ola Electric, announced that all Ola Electric products will be available on the government's ONDC from 29 August 2024.
• Ola plans to enter India's quick commerce sector, joining competitors like Amazon and Flipkart.
• Ola Electric's market cap dropped by ₹11,000 crore and share price declined by 22% from its peak after a strong start earlier this month.
• On 27 August 2024, Bhavish Aggarwal, founder of Ola, emphasized India's need to lead the global technology transition, focusing on AI and electric vehicles, and announced Ola Electric's plans to produce electric two and three-wheelers tailored for India.
• Ola's new 4680 cell, launched on 25 Aug 2024, promises to revolutionize EV battery technology with its unique design and superior performance capabilities.
• Ola founder and CEO Bhavish Aggarwal emphasized the private sector's role in job creation and announced Ola's investment in a new e-commerce business with ONDC.
• Ola has relaunched its car-pooling feature 'Ola Share' on its app after nearly four years of suspension due to Covid-19 protocols.
• Ola Consumer has resumed its ride-sharing feature on the Ola app after four years, as announced by Co-founder Bhavish Aggarwal during the company's annual product launch event, Sankalp, on 14 August 2024.
• Ola updated its app on August 16, 2024, and now allows users to request data deletion.
• Ola's CEO Bhavish Aggarwal announced plans to introduce affordable electric vehicles for the Global South, positioning India as a global EV hub.
• Ola is currently hiring for the position of Chief of Staff - CEO (OFS) in India.
• Ola introduced a new seamless cab pick-up process for Ola Prime Plus at Mumbai Airport Terminal 2.
• A customer accused Ola of unethical practices and plans to file an FIR and approach the Consumer Redressal Forum.
• Ola Electric is set to launch the S1 Air in Q2 2024 as an affordable electric bike with a range of 80-100 km per charge and a top speed of 80-85 km/h.
• Ola urged the Karnataka High Court to dismiss a plea seeking action against one of its drivers under the POSH Act, arguing that drivers are not employees and the concerned driver has already been blacklisted.
• The Karnataka High Court reserved its order on a petition seeking action against an Ola cab driver for allegedly sexually harassing a female commuter in 2019.
• Ola launched a new personal loan application feature on their app for 2024.
• At the Ola Sankalp event, Ola Electric Mobility introduced a new line of electric bikes and faced social media backlash for claiming to be the 4th largest EV firm globally, excluding China.
• At its Sankalp 2024 event, Ola announced initiatives including AI integration, an EV fleet expansion, a loyalty program, and automated warehousing to enhance accessibility, affordability, efficiency, and sustainability.
• Ola reintroduced its Ola Share feature for ride-hailing services in Bengaluru, with plans to expand to other cities.
• Ola announced that deliveries for the high-performance Roadster Pro electric motorcycle, priced between ₹2 lakhs and ₹2.5 lakhs, will commence around Diwali 2025.
• Ola Electric is set to introduce Ola Credit on UPI as part of its strategy to integrate financial solutions, CEO Bhavish Aggarwal announced at the 'Sankalp 2024' event on August 15, 2024.
• At its Sankalp 2024 event, Ola unveiled a major expansion into digital commerce with Ola Consumer, including AI-powered shopping assistants, a partnership with ONDC, and plans to deploy 100,000 electric delivery vehicles.
• Ola announced plans to set up fully automated dark stores and state-of-the-art fulfilment centres, deploy electric two-wheelers, and offer one year of free Krutrim Cloud for all ONDC suppliers, applicable for startups and SMEs.
• SoftBank’s $250 million investment in Ola Electric soared to a $1 billion valuation.
• Ola's stock listed at a 17% increase.
• Ola Electric shares were expected to list at a 5-10% discount.
• Last month, Ola launched Ola Maps, initiating a price war with Google Maps.
• Ola's Bhavish Aggarwal is selling a stake in Tork Motors to raise capital amid a 55% drop in sales in June 2023.
• Bhavish Aggarwal, CEO of Ola, met with Shri Nitin Gadkari to discuss India's potential in green energy and EV products.
• Ola CEO Bhavish Aggarwal shared a picture of Bijlee, a dog employee at Ola Electric, on X, calling her a 'very demotivating co-worker'.
• Ola's CEO Bhavish Aggarwal discussed the company's progress on EVs, Green Energy, and AI with Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman.
• Ola Electric's e-scooter registrations fell 34% in August to 27,518 units from 41,624 units in July.
• Ola uses Java and Kotlin for its Android app, Swift and Objective-C for its iOS app, Node.js for backend services, and Python for data analytics and machine learning.
• Ola's cloud telephony provider Exotel experienced a data security incident compromising sensitive customer data.
• Ola Founder Bhavish Aggarwal emphasized the need for the private sector to do more in leading the global tech transition and building future jobs.
• On 26 August 2024, Ola CEO Bhavish Aggarwal questioned on social media why keyboards sold in India include the dollar sign but not the rupee sign.
• Ola CEO Bhavish Aggarwal announced that the company is developing its own AI, cloud, and chip technologies to position India at the forefront of the global tech transition.
• Ola CEO Bhavish Aggarwal announced the cancellation of their electric luxury car project to focus on products more relevant to the Indian market.
• Ola CEO Bhavish Aggarwal questioned the absence of the rupee symbol on electronic products sold in India.
• Ola has restarted its car-pooling service after a 4-year suspension due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
• Kinetic Green plans to launch an electric scooter in 18 months, directly competing with Ola.
• Ola's recent expansion into cloud and navigation/maps segments faces significant challenges due to the strong IP protections held by established competitors like Google and Microsoft Azure.
• Ola used machine learning to forecast bike ride requests, optimizing resource allocation and improving customer satisfaction.
• Ola received PLI certification from ARAI for two variants of the Ola S1 X, the 3 kWh and the 4 kWh models, meeting the 50% localisation criteria mandated by the Ministry of Heavy Industries.
• Ola officially shelved its electric car project in India, citing the latest IPO as the reason.
• Ola manufactured its 4680 Bharat battery, which can reduce the price of its electric vehicles by 25-30% and strengthen supply chain resilience.
• Ola's subsidiary Krutrim is hiring Frontend Engineers with expertise in React, Node.js, and JavaScript.
• Ola will roll out the MoveOS 5 Beta by Diwali, featuring group navigation, live location sharing, and road trip mode.
• At Business Today’s ‘India at 100’ event, Ola CEO Bhavish Aggarwal shared his vision for Ola's diverse ventures, including Ola Electric and Krutrim AI, emphasizing their global ambitions and the responsibility of managing public funds.
• Ola launched a new initiative to offer loans up to 10 lakh rupees to meet users' immediate financial needs with a simple application process.
• Ola announced the opening of their new facility and expressed gratitude for the support received.
• Ola's website traffic increased by 8.8% in July 2024, reaching 4.87 million visits, with improvements in global and country rankings, average visit duration, and bounce rate.
• Untether AI partnered with Ola to provide AI acceleration solutions for its India datacenters, showcasing their technology at Ola Electric's Sankalp 2024 event.
• Ola will host a live musical performance with 3-times Grammy Winner Ricky Kej and showcase advances in electric mobility, consumer tech, and AI at 12:00 PM.
• Bhavish Aggarwal announced that Krutrim AI is now live with Ola Electric and Ola Cabs, and the company plans to set up a 1-GW data center facility by 2028.
• Ola Electric Mobility Ltd's shares dropped over 5% ahead of its Q1 earnings report and the unveiling of its first electric motorcycle at the Sankalp 2024 event on August 15.
• Yatri app launched in Delhi-NCR, offering zero-commission cab services, directly challenging Ola.
• Bhavish Aggarwal, CEO of Ola, announced that India has become one of the largest EV 2W markets due to their efforts.
• Ola CEO Bhavish Aggarwal test rode the upcoming Ola electric bike.
• Ola's parent firm ANI Technologies planned to set up its own dark stores to meet rising demand for rapid deliveries.
• Ola will host Sankalp 2024 on 15th August at the Ola Future Factory, showcasing advancements in AI, electric vehicles, and commerce.

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