BlackBuck CEO clarifies relocation plans, says company staying in Bengaluru

Trucking platform says staying in tech hub after infrastructure complaints spark departure speculation

Online trucking platform BlackBuck moved to clarify its office relocation plans Thursday evening, stating it would remain within Bengaluru despite earlier comments from Chief Executive Rajesh Yabaji that triggered speculation about the company leaving the city due to infrastructure challenges.

 

Yabaji said in a statement that BlackBuck was “only relocating within the city to a different location” to facilitate easier commutes for employees, while maintaining significant operations along Bengaluru’s Outer Ring Road. The clarification came after his earlier social media post about moving from the company’s Bellandur office sparked reports that BlackBuck might exit Bengaluru entirely.

 

BlackBuck, which has operated in the city since 2015 and expanded to the Outer Ring Road in 2016, credited Karnataka’s tech ecosystem with enabling its growth into a major logistics platform. BlackBuck is currently valued at around Rs 11,000 crore.

 

 

“BlackBuck started its operations in the year 2015 from Bengaluru, beginning from a small office near the Sony Signal at Koramangala. As we expanded our operations and teams, we moved to the Bellandur–Outer Ring Road (ORR) in 2016 for larger office spaces and better-suited facilities,” said Yabaji on X (formerly Twitter) on Thursday. “The ORR, the city of Bengaluru, and the state of Karnataka have enabled the company with the needed resources, infrastructure, talent density, and opportunities to grow into a large company, making a meaningful impact across the trucking ecosystem in India.”

 

He further said, “As one of the biggest beneficiaries of the Karnataka tech ecosystem over the last decade, we fully understand what the city of Bengaluru has helped us achieve and how it will play a major role in unlocking our potential ahead. Hence, we unilaterally refute the claims made by some media outlets that we are considering moving out of the city. We are only relocating within the city to a different location, which will facilitate an easy commute for our employees. As we do this, we want to reiterate that a large part of operations would still continue to happen on the ORR, and hence we will continue to seek help from the concerned authorities to enable infrastructure improvements to facilitate smooth business operations.”

 

He also added, “We will not only continue to remain in the city of Bengaluru, but will also expand our footprint here. Bengaluru is home for us and as always, we continue to remain committed to relay our needs and issues to the relevant government authorities and seek support to get them resolved.”

 

Bengaluru, often referred to as India’s Silicon Valley, is home to over 3,500 IT firms. The episode highlights growing concerns among technology companies about Bengaluru’s infrastructure limitations, particularly traffic congestion that affects employee productivity and talent retention, according to industry sources.

 

Several prominent figures in the tech industry, including Setu API co-founder Nikhil Kumar and EaseMyTrip’s Prashant Pitti, have publicly expressed concerns about the city’s traffic issues and ageing infrastructure, with some hinting at shifting talent and operations to more navigable hubs such as Hyderabad.

 

In July, EaseMyTrip co-founder Prashant Pitti found himself trapped for more than 100 minutes on Bengaluru’s congested Outer Ring Road. Frustrated by the experience, he posted on X offering Rs 1 crore to anyone who could deploy AI to map the city’s traffic choke points and share the insights with local authorities.

 

BlackBuck’s decision to publicly address relocation speculation highlights the sensitivity around corporate departures from India’s technology capital, where infrastructure challenges have become a competitive disadvantage in attracting and retaining businesses. For BlackBuck, maintaining its Bengaluru presence while addressing employee concerns reflects the broader challenge facing companies balancing operational needs with talent accessibility in India’s tech hub.