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World’s First Autonomous Taxis Hit The Road in Singapore

25Aug By NitishNo Comments

Automobile

World’s First Autonomous Taxis Hit The Road in Singapore

AP- The world's first self-driving taxis began picking up passengers in Singapore starting Thursday. Select members of the public can hail a free ride through their smartphones in taxis operated by nuTonomy, an autonomous vehicle software startup. While multiple companies, including Google and Volvo, have been testing self-driving cars on public roads for several years, nuTonomy says is the first to offer rides to the public. Its launch in Singapore is beating ride-hailing service Uber, which plans to offer rides in autonomous cars in Pittsburgh, by a few weeks. NuTonomy is starting small - six cars now, growing to a dozen by the end of the year. The ultimate goal, company executives say, is to have a fully self-driving taxi fleet in Singapore by 2018, to help cut the number of cars o...

Ola Shutting Down TaxiForSure, To Integrate Hundreds

19Aug By AnkitaNo Comments

News

Ola Shutting Down TaxiForSure, To Integrate Hundreds

ANI- Taxi aggregator Ola, which acquired rival TaxiForSure a little over a year ago in a USD 200 million (roughly Rs. 1,240 crores) deal is now reportedly shutting down TaxiForSure as a separate offering, laid off 700 employees and integrating its fleet a report stated here today. "The TaxiForSure (TFS) value proposition as an economy brand for customers has been seamlessly integrated onto the Ola platform with the launch and rapid adoption of Ola Micro," Ola said in a statement. The development comes at a time when the SoftBank-backed aggregator is looking to reduce its cash burn in comparison to rival aggregator Uber. "TFS has contributed immensely towards Ola Micro's success within a short span of time. Ola Micro has expanded to over 90 cities across India and accounts for the larges...

Didi’s Cheng Wei: Chinese Patriot Who Tamed Uber

12Aug By reutersNo Comments

CHINA, News

Didi’s Cheng Wei: Chinese Patriot Who Tamed Uber

Cheng Wei, 34, was once assistant to the head of a foot massage firm. Last week, his company Didi Chuxing bagged Uber's China business in a deal valuing his ride-hailing start-up at $35 billion - a second success in as many years in a gruelling battle with a rival. Investors and Didi staff say Cheng has a cool head, a keen strategic eye and a lack of ego - all pivotal in taking on and beating Uber in a two-year, multi-billion-dollar scrap for China's competitive ride-hailing market. But his leadership style is also cut-throat and tinged with nationalism, say some of those who know him. He often references China's history and military in his speeches. He will be closely watched now as he looks to turn his vast, money-losing ride-hailing company into a meaningful business. Chinese m...

Didi and Uber Join Fight Against Ola in India

10Aug By reutersNo Comments

News

Didi and Uber Join Fight Against Ola in India

Didi Chuxing's acquisition of Uber's China business last week reshapes the landscape in Asia's growing ride-hailing sector, and leaves India's Ola more vulnerable to attack by Uber in its $12 billion home market. Four months ago, Ola executives met with Didi hoping the Chinese firm would invest fresh capital to help it fight Uber Technologies Inc which, with its deeper pockets, has made rapid inroads into India. They were told Didi wanted first to sort out its own challenges in China, said a person with direct knowledge of Ola's plans. Didi and Uber have raised and spent billions of dollars in a discount slugfest to win drivers, passengers and market share in China. Didi, now worth around $35 billion, last year invested about $30 million in Ola, which is also backed by Japan's ...

How Apple Backing Helped China’s Taxi Aggregator Didi Chuxing To Outrun Uber in China

4Aug By reutersNo Comments

Story

How Apple Backing Helped China’s Taxi Aggregator Didi Chuxing To Outrun Uber in China

Apple Inc's $1 billion investment in car-hailing app Didi Chuxing in May helped accelerate Uber's decision to agree a halt to a costly two-year battle with its rival in China, people close to the companies and analysts said. Didi Chuxing Technology Co and Uber Technologies Inc raised billions of dollars in funding and spent heavily on discounted rides as they slugged it out for drivers, passengers and market share in the world's second-biggest economy. Uber finally ceded this week, realizing it was no match for a cash-rich rival with the backing of three of the world's largest technology giants. It agreed to give up its independence in return for a nearly one-fifth stake in a bigger Didi. Didi raised far more money than Uber China making China the first market where Uber's strategy of...

Uber Launches Scheme For Local Taxis and Autos

28Jul By RishabhNo Comments

News

Uber Launches Scheme For Local Taxis and Autos

Taxi aggregator Uber today announced the Mi Pan Malak scheme to encourage taxi and auto drivers across the megapolis to join its platform. Under the scheme, the drivers can avail of offers and services through Ubers partnerships with leading financial institutions and car manufacturers with a down payment of as low as Rs 25,000, Uber said in a statement here. (more…)

Decoding: Venture Capital Investments Globally

18Jul By reutersNo Comments

ANALYSIS

Decoding: Venture Capital Investments Globally

Venture capital investments in startups rebounded in the second quarter, as a general stock market recovery helped restore confidence, according to a new report published on Friday. Investors plowed $15.3 billion into venture-backed startups in the second quarter of this year, a 20.5 percent increase over the $12.7 billion invested in the first quarter, according to the MoneyTree Report by PricewaterhouseCoopers and the National Venture Capital Association. The report's conclusions are based on data from Thomson Reuters. "There was a bit of a pause in the first quarter when the public markets took a beating," said Sean Cunningham, managing director of Trident Capital Cybersecurity. "The public markets are back. Everyone is bullish." Ride-hailing company Uber Technologies Inc and mes...

Freecharge Ready To Compete With Paytm In Taxi Fare Payment

8Jul By RishabhNo Comments

News

Freecharge Ready To Compete With Paytm In Taxi Fare Payment

The taxi industry, with a potential of $7 billion to be reached by 2020( as predicted by SoftBank) has started sheltering e-payment besides cab hailing services. While everyone is familiar how Uber and Ola are striving to gain an upper hand in this sector, theres a silent battle brewing between the wallet and payment service providers Paytm (One97 Communication Pvt. Ltd) and Freecharge(owned by Snapdeal) to make the most of the taxi market. Paytm had already partnered with Uber, as it realized this great potential much before the Freecharge. It's already been accepted in many auto and taxi. Entering this market, Freecharge will enable cashless payments in at least 100,000 taxis by the end of this year. Freecharge claims to have on-boarded about 15,000 taxis already to accept cashless...

Karnataka HC Extends Relax on Interim Ban of Ola, Uber Cabs

21Jun By Press Trust of IndiaNo Comments

INDIA

Karnataka HC Extends Relax on Interim Ban of Ola, Uber Cabs

The Karnataka High Court today extended till June 23 its interim order directing the state transport department not to seize cabs affiliated to Ola and Uber for allegedly plying without licence, and restraining cab aggregators from demanding surge price from commuters. Extending the interim order, Justice Aravind Kumar said "since the date of the interim order ends today, this court extends it till June 23." The order had directed the cab operators not to demand surge price from commuters and asked the Karnataka Transport department not to impound cabs affiliated to Uber and Ola for plying without licence. The High Court also admitted an application filed by Radio Taxi Operators, seeking permission to implead in the case, in a move to defend the governments on-demand transportation te...

Uber’s Rival in Pakistan Uses Rickshaws, Low-Tech Phones

20Jun By reutersNo Comments

Story

Uber’s Rival in Pakistan Uses Rickshaws, Low-Tech Phones

As taxi hailing giant Uber enters Pakistan, a little-known local competitor is counting on a mix of new ideas and old technology to tap what could be a big chunk of the market: low-income residents who travel in rickshaws, not cabs. Known as Rixi, the Lahore-based service hails rickshaws instead of cars. Its platform is not smartphones, but older SMS phone messaging that allows nearby drivers to bid for any user's business. Pakistan has more than 130 million cellphone subscriptions, but only 21 percent subscribe to data packages, and, while the proportion is rising, there are opportunities across emerging economies in Asia to tap a relatively low-tech customer base. In Thailand, Taxi Radio uses calls and text messages to put cabs and people in touch and is popular with those without s...

Doubts Surrounding Over Investors Backing Both Uber and Didi in China

17Jun By AnkitaNo Comments

News

Doubts Surrounding Over Investors Backing Both Uber and Didi in China

Ride-hailing companies Uber and Didi have brought many new dimensions to the startup industry, such as making billion-dollar-plus funding rounds routine. Now, they have added another to the list: sharing big investors who are backing both companies, even though they are fierce rivals. Uber, the leading ride service in the United States and much of the world, and Didi Chuxing, which claims 87 percent of the Chinese market for private vehicle ride-hailing, now share at least four investors: asset manager BlackRock, Chinese investment manager Hillhouse Capital Group, hedge fund Tiger Global and insurer China Life, according to investment records and sources familiar with the deals. "It's very unusual to allow the same parties to invest and get information rights of sworn mortal enemies. ...

5Jun By Press Trust of IndiaNo Comments

CHINA

Uber Aims to Overtake China Market Leader Didi in 2017

Ride-hailing app Uber expects to continue on a "rapid growth" path in China, hoping to surpass market leader Didi Chuxing in 2017, Uber China's head of strategy said on Friday. The company has been in fierce competition with Didi Chuxing, which is backed by Internet giants Alibaba Group and Tencent, across China. Uber's market share in China has grown to about 30% now from 1% in 2015, Liu Zhen said at The Wall Street Journal's Converge technology conference in Hong Kong. Both companies have spent heavily to subsidise fares to gain market share in the country, raising speculation in local media that they might ultimately join forces. Didi itself teamed up with a former local rival last year. "I heard the noise a lot and got asked that a lot about this (a tie-up with Didi)," ...