Ola, Uber rival Namma Yatri raises Rs 91 crore in funding from Blume Ventures, Google, others

Bengaluru-based ride-hailing firm Namma Yatri parent Moving Tech, which also owns Yatri Sathi, Yatri, and Mana Yatri, has raised $11 million or approximately Rs 91 crore in a pre-Series A funding round.

Blume Ventures and Antler led the round, with participation from Sundar Pichai-led tech giant Google and other investors. 

In April, Fintech firm Juspay spun off its ride-hailing subsidiary, Namma Yatri, into a separate entity called Moving Tech, which is headed by Juspay’s Chief Growth Officer, Shan MS, and Chief Product Officer, Magizhan Selvan.

Purpose of fundraising

The firm, which competes with Ola and Uber, plans to use the raised capital to invest in technology, research, and product innovation to develop an integrated, digitized public transportation system that is as convenient and seamless as cab or auto travel.

Moving Tech aims to increase the usage of public transport, contributing towards a sustainable future.

“With our people-first approach, our goal is to build empathetic products and tech that are 10x better. By collaborating with samaaj (community), sarkar (government), and bazaar (business), we aspire to create an impact similar to UPI in India and Linux worldwide. This funding will enable us to innovate and grow further,” Selvan and Shan said in a joint statement.

How does Namma Yatri operate?

Founded in November 2022, Namma Yatri was launched by Juspay in association with Nandan Nilekani’s BECKN Foundation and supported by Bengaluru’s Auto Rickshaw Drivers’ Union (ARDU).

Namma Yatri and its family of apps are fully open-source and part of the Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC). These apps aim to create a transparent, efficient, and sustainable transportation ecosystem, aspiring to be the "UPI for mobility."

Notably, the company introduced zero-commission auto and cab rentals in Bengaluru and Chennai and plans to expand to Delhi-NCR.

Moving Tech's growth

Moving Tech has been operational in eight cities, facilitating 46 million trips and generating Rs 700 crore in driver earnings without commissions. The company claims to have a user base of 7 million and 400,000 drivers.

“Namma Yatri’s focus on digital public infrastructure (DPI) is pioneering. They are building the mobility of the future — one that is inclusive, efficient, and sustainable. We are thrilled to support them,” said Fady Abdel-Nour and Nitin Sharma, Partners at Antler, in their joint statement.

"We were amazed by the simplicity of what the technology and a robust product can do to solve mass mobility. We are glad to partner with an exceptional team and back their grand vision," said Karthik Reddy, a partner at Blume Ventures.