According to a Forbes India news story, CE Info Systems, the parent company of MapMyIndia, has accused Ola Electric of stealing its data to create Ola Maps. Ola also claimed to have reverse-engineered a licensed product and cached and preserved the data. On the same day as Ola’s media conference regarding its impending public issue, the claims were made public. Bhavish Aggarwal declined to address the matter while he was at the event. After being contacted by Forbes India, CE Info Systems declined to comment.
The claims have been deemed “false and misleading” by Ola Electric. “You have duplicated our client’s API (application programming interface) and SDKs (software development kits) from proprietary sources belonging to our client to build OLA Maps. It is firmly stated that our client’s exclusive data has been copied/derived by you to further your illegal motive and for your unjust commercial gains.” according to a legal letter that CE Info Systems handed to Ola Electric, as reported by Forbes India.
To access MapmyIndia’s mapping data, ride-hailing startup Ola Cabs initially established a relationship with the latter in 2015, signing a multi-year agreement. Ola Electric then integrated MapMyIndia’s services into the S1 Pro electric scooter in 2022.
Earlier this month, ride-hailing startup Ola Cabs switched from using Google Maps to its own internal Ola Maps for operations, claiming to save about Rs 100 crore annually. Ola Electric’s initial public offering (IPO) has commenced, revealing a price range of Rs 72-76 per share. The IPO will open for subscription on August 2. The offering will end on August 6th, with anchor investor bidding taking place on August 1st. It is estimated that Ola Electric’s total market value will be around Rs 33,500 crore.