Google invests in Indian open source Uber competitor - Namma Yatri

Namma Yatri, the open-source ridesharing app, has reportedly secured $11 million in pre-Series A funding! 💰

Google joins as an investor, part of its $10 billion India commitment

• Round co-led by Blume Ventures and Antler
• Operates on ONDC, India's initiative to democratize e-commerce
• Completed 46 million+ rides across multiple Indian cities
• What sets Namma Yatri apart? 🤔
• No commission fees, unlike Uber and Ola.
• Small monthly fee from driver partners

Founded by Magizhan Selvan and Shan M S to address driver frustrations, Namma Yatri is an innovative open-source ride-sharing startup based in Bengaluru, India. Launched in 2022, the app connects customers with auto-rickshaw and cab drivers without charging any commission fees. Instead, it sustains itself through a small monthly fee paid by its driver partners, making it a unique player in the ride-sharing market dominated by Uber and Ola, which charge drivers 25-30% commission per ride.

The startup was incubated by Juspay, a SoftBank-backed financial services company, and later spun off into a separate entity called Moving Tech.

Namma Yatri operates on the Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC), an interoperable platform backed by the Indian government to democratize e-commerce.The app has facilitated over 46 million rides across more than half a dozen Indian cities, including Bengaluru and Hyderabad. Recently, Namma Yatri raised $11 million in a pre-Series A funding round co-led by Blume Ventures and Antler, with participation from Google, which aligns with Google's broader $10 billion investment commitment in India.Moving Tech’s co-founders, Magizhan Selvan and Shan M S, have emphasized empathy and a differentiated approach in their business model, focusing on addressing the frustrations of drivers within the existing ride-sharing ecosystem.

The new funding will be used to expand Namma Yatri's engineering and R&D teams and to explore additional transportation options, including buses. Namma Yatri is a testament to the potential of open-source solutions in transforming traditional business models and improving livelihoods in the gig economy.