Car rental firm sues Yamaha for alleged data misuse to set up competing firm

Drivezy, an India-based car rental platform, has sued Yamaha for setting up a similar business after it began talks of an acquisition, Entrackr reported. Yamaha had previously invested in Drivezy’s US$2 million series B round.

Documents showed that Yamaha signed a term sheet in January 2020 to invest US$12 million in Drivezy’s US$35 million series C round, but the Japanese conglomerate later expressed its interest in an acquisition, according to Entrackr.

In December 2021, the firm made plans to acquire Drivezy’s assets through the “bankruptcy route” – proceedings where large amounts of data were shared.

Yamaha had also invested in Drivezy competitors Royal Brothers, Zypp, and Rapido. Drivezy alleged that the conglomerate shared its data with these firms.

Shortly after, Yamaha registered for a license to set up a similar business to Drivezy in India, after which the Japanese firm said it decided to abandon acquisition plans.

Drivezy said that this was a  “calculated criminal conspiracy” on Yamaha’s part to procure the startup’s private data to set up a competing firm.

See also: Indian car rental startup Zoomcar plans $100m bet in Southeast Asia