Sachin Bansal invests Rs 650 crore in Ola

Bengaluru: Ride-hailing platform Ola on Tuesday confirmed that Flipkart co-founder Sachin Bansal has made an investment of Rs 650 crore in the company.

“This investment is part of Ola’s larger Series J funding round and is in Sachin’s personal capacity as an investor,” Ola said in a statement.

Bansal, last year left Flipkart after the US retail giant Walmart picked up 77 percent stake in the e-commerce company for USD 16 billion. In January, Ola had issued shares worth Rs 150 crore to Sachin as part of series J round of funding. 

The investment is part of Ola's plans to raise about USD 1 billion in funding. In October last year, the Bengaluru-based company had announced raising USD 1.1 billion funding from China's Tencent Holdings and SoftBank Group. 

“Ola is one of India’s most promising consumer businesses, that is creating deep impact and lasting value for the ecosystem. On one hand, they have emerged as a global force in the mobility space and on the other, they continue to build deeper for various needs of a billion Indians through their platform, becoming a trusted household name today,” Bansal, said.

“I have known Bhavish as an entrepreneur and as a friend over these years and I have great respect for what he and the team at Ola have built in just 8 years! I am personally thrilled to be part of the Ola journey and I look forward to contributing to their success,” he further added.

“We are extremely thrilled to have Sachin onboard Ola as an investor. His investment is a huge encouragement for all of us at Ola and our mission to serve a billion people,” Bhavish Aggarwal, Co-founder & CEO, Ola said.