And have to compete for the other half.
From Quartz:
Ola has just landed some serious firepower to take on Uber in one of Asia’s most closely fought ride-hailing markets.
Bengaluru-based Ola has raised $400 million (Rs2,612 crore) from Chinese internet giant Tencent, according to a Sept. 20 filing with the registrar of companies.
This is possibly part of a $2 billion funding round that Ola is in the midst of closing, media reports suggested, citing anonymous sources. The company has already raised around $150 million from two US-based hedge funds and $50 million from the UC-RNT Fund of former Tata group chief Ratan Tata in partnership with the University of California’s investment arm. The remaining amount is to come from Japan’s Softbank, the Business Standard newspaper reported. Ola and Softbank declined to comment.
Ola’s valuation after the latest funding round is unclear, but the highest it reached was $5 billion in November 2015.
The timing of this round is critical for Ola as arch rival Uber is now widely expected to splurge in India following its exit from China last year. The San Francisco-based firm has said that it would allocate a “significant portion” of the $1 billion earlier meant to be spent in China to India instead.
With money in the bank, Ola is now ready for Uber....MORE
“It (the funding) creates a formidable competitor for Uber, which can match its deep pockets and has the advantage of understanding the Indian market better than Uber does,” Vivek Wadhwa, a distinguished fellow at Carnegie Mellon University, told Quartz. “I am betting on Ola.”...
Meanwhile in Singapore Uber is making mini-movies for branding.
From the advertising mavens at The Drum:
Creative works APAC featuring Brandmovers, Creativeland Asia, BBH, Ogilvy & more
Welcome to The Drum's APAC Creative Works.
As always, this section is dedicated to showing the best creative work and gives you, the reader, the chance to decide which work we feature as our APAC 'Creative Work of the Week.'
We've now introduced our new five-star voting system. To vote for your favorite, make sure you click on the stars. The winner be chosen based on the average rating and the number of votes cast. Voting closes on Tuesday 17 October.
For project information, credits and more hover over the 'i' icon or expand to full screen....MORE
Uber: Where is more than just a place by BBH Singapore
Uber's first film in its first brand campaign in Singapore aims to show the emotions within the locations in its map.
Using a story that harks back to Singapore's first military roots, while celebrating a creative future - it tries to show two very different stories behind the 'Gillman Barracks' location.
The film by BBH will be shown on social media channels, such as YouTube and Facebook, while also being shown in cinemas across Singapore....MORE
Showing the emotions behind the locations makes for a beautiful ad but man, Didi and Ola are bringing serious cash.
