Mobility giant Ola Cabs recently made a significant move by transitioning to its in-house navigation platform, Ola Maps. According to the founder and CEO, Bhavish Aggarwal, this strategic shift will lead to substantial savings of INR 100 Cr annually in charges previously payable to Google Maps.
The decision to fully exit Google Maps comes on the heels of Ola Electric’s commercial launch of Ola Maps in January this year. The company has been diligently working on developing its in-house navigation system for over a year. Aggarwal hinted at exciting upcoming features for Ola Maps, including street view, NeRFs, indoor images, 3D maps, and drone maps.
Additionally, Ola Maps’ APIs will soon be available on the company’s AI cloud platform, Krutrim. This transition coincides with Ola Cabs’ recent move to shift its IT workload from Microsoft’s Azure to Krutrim’s cloud.
This strategic shift is expected to not only bolster Ola’s technological capabilities but also contribute to trimming losses and aiding in the further expansion of Ola Maps. The move comes amidst the company’s efforts to strengthen its ecommerce presence through a partnership with Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC) and Ola Electric’s preparations for an initial public offering (IPO).
With these developments in place, Ola is poised to leverage its in-house navigation platform to enhance user experience, drive efficiencies, and position itself for sustained growth in the competitive mobility and tech landscape.
