IPO-bound Ola acquires Indian mapping solutions firm

Indian ride-hailing major Ola said it has acquired GeoSpoc, a local provider of geospatial services, for an undisclosed amount.

Photo credit: Ola

As part of the acquisition, Dhruva Rajan, who is GeoSpoc’s co-founder and technology director, and his team will jointly develop technologies with Ola to make mobility with respect to shared and personal vehicles more accessible and sustainable.

In a statement announcing the move, Ola pointed out that maps need to improve mobility in a number of areas through better accuracy, development of high definition and 3D mapping for autonomous driving, and incorporation of real-time satellite imagery, among other things.

“We have the data and the expertise to build this [by] utilizing our deep understanding of consumer movements as well as our massive network of two-, three-, and four-wheelers that provide unprecedented geo-spatial details,” Ola wrote in its statement.

The company plans to combine this data with technology such as satellite imagery to build “living maps” that better represent a changing landscape.

Earlier this year, it was reported that the Bengaluru-based firm was eyeing a raise of up to US$2 billion in a public offering, which would value the startup at between US$12 billion and US$14 billion. It is working on its pre-listing filings with investment banks such as Morgan Stanley, Kotak Mahindra Capital, JP Morgan, and Goldman Sachs.