Google invested $11 Mn in Namma Yatri

Google has invested a total of $11 million (approximately Rs 92 crore) in a pre-Series A fundraising round for Moving Tech, the parent company of Namma Yatri, India's community-led ride-sharing app. Other investors in this round include Blume Ventures and Antler.

Namma Yatri is quickly capturing market share from Uber and Ola with its no-commission model.

Google CEO Sundar Pichai had earlier pledged to invest $10 billion in India in 2020.

Namma Yatri operates on the Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC), an initiative by the Indian government to democratize e-commerce.

The startup connects customers with auto-rickshaw and cab drivers without charging for rides and collects a small monthly fee from its driver partners.

In contrast, Uber and Ola charge their driver partners 25%-30% of the ride cost and have declined to join the ONDC network for their core mobility services.

Moving Tech's co-founders, Magizhan Selvan and Shan M S, saw an opportunity after noticing how frustrated drivers were with the existing system dominated by Uber and Ola in India.

"There was a lack of differentiated approach," Shan said, reflecting on the decade-long duopoly that Uber and Ola have enjoyed unchallenged in India.
Moving Tech doesn't offer customer discounts or driver incentives, and it is banking on providing a service that people find genuinely useful, he added.

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.