Ride-hailing platform Ola, on Tuesday, said Flipkart co-founder Sachin Bansal had invested ₹650 crore in the company. The investment, which has been made in Mr. Bansal’s personal capacity, is the largest investment by an individual in Ola till date.
Mr. Bansal, who had co-founded Flipkart with Binny Bansal in 2007, exited the company after the U.S. retail giant Walmart picked up 77% in the Bengaluru-based e-commerce firm for $16 billion.
“I have known Bhavish [Ola co-founder and CEO] 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,” Mr. Bansal said.
In October last, the firm had raised $1.1 billion from China’s Tencent Holdings Ltd. and SoftBank Group. The company had stated then that it was in talks to raise another $1 billion from a group of investors to take the total funding to more than $2 billion.
Bhavish Aggarwal, co-founder and CEO, Ola, said: “Sachin is an icon of entrepreneurship and his experience of building one of India’s most respected businesses ground up is unparalleled. I personally look forward to learning from Sachin’s journey, his mentorship and guidance, as we look to build one of the most impactful global businesses out of India.”
