Flipkart founder Sachin Bansal may play mentor to Ola in fight against Uber

Flipkart co-founder may be instrumental in next funding round talks

Sachin Bansal, the poster boy of Indian e-commerce and co-founder of Flipkart, will possibly have a role beyond that of an investor in Bhavish Aggarwal-led Ola. 

Bansal, who had to step down from the company he had founded last year when Walmart acquired a majority stake in Flipkart, is likely to be a mentor at the cab aggregating platform as it enters the next phase of expansion. Industry watchers believe Bansal, who has already invested Rs 650 crore ($92 million) in Ola, would be able to help the company in its fierce fight with American rival Uber.      

In an emailed response to a detailed questionnaire, Ola said that Bansal is an investor in the firm. 

According to sources in the know, Bansal, who made $1 billion by selling his Flipkart stake, will possibly be instrumental in Ola closing a $1.5-billion (more than Rs 10,500 crore) funding round by August. Ola may also get into a tie-up with Ather Energy, another firm where Bansal has invested, to push its electric vehicle (EV) plan.

According to sources, Bansal’s entry into Ola as a major investor is expected to instill confidence among investors. In its war with Uber, Ola has for long been on the lookout for a mega round that would help it expand operations not only in India but abroad too. 

Sources said Bansal could give Ola that extra edge on the negotiating table with investors, including Chinese cab-aggregating major Didi Chuxing. Didi, which is already an investor in the firm, has already been approached for leading the funding round. 

Good for employee morale

Earlier this month, Ola got all its employees together in a surprise town hall meeting at its corporate headquarters in Bengaluru. Aggarwal, while chatting with anxious employees after a several exits in the top tier as well as middle management, is learnt to have hinted that Bansal would be involved in mentoring the company. 

“A lot of things were discussed such as how the global markets were doing well, the EV push, and that the slow growth at Foodpanda may actually offer learnings to do better,’’ an executive who attended the town hall said. 

Aggarwal said the company would move beyond being a start-up, and have a more structured organisation, the executive quoted earlier said. He indicated that Bansal’s presence would have its benefits as he would mentor the company. Ola co-founder Ankit Bhati too attended the town hall.

Bansal would be more of a consultant who could showcase to investors that the cab aggregator is a reliable horse to bet on in the race against Uber, according to another executive at Ola. 

A Mumbai-based investor, who’s close to Bansal and Aggarwal, said, “Ola has been trying to raise money from a lot of new investors because it does not want to raise more funds from SoftBank Group, which wants it to merge with Uber.’’ Apart from the $92 million that he invested in Ola, Bansal brings his extensive contact book, the investor pointed out. “He’s one of the most successful entrepreneurs and a lot of doors could open.” 

The EV push

Bansal, who’s bullish on electric mobility, had invested in Ather Energy earlier. Now, he’s likely to back the Ola EV initiative. Ather Energy and Ola are going to launch electric bike taxis together, a source said. “This is possibly part of the plan which is being drawn up internally for the next mega round,” the source added. And the Bansal touch could make it work, analysts believe.