Google backs Namma Yatri, an open-source ride-hailing app in India

Namma Yatri an Indian open-source ride-hailing app launched in November 2022 is going viral because of its features such as no-commission and connecting commuters directly with auto-rickshaw and cab drivers, bypassing the middleman.

Image source: Moving Tech (Namma Yatri)

Google recently pledged to invest $10 billion in India over a given period interested in Namma Yatri’s $11 million pre-Series A funding round.

The exact investment amount though has yet to be officially announced by Google or Moving Tech (Namma Yatri's parent company). Still, other investors such as Blume Ventures, and Antler are also backing the Namma Yatri app with Google.

While the Namma Yatri app is already available in major cities around the country, the platform generated over $50 million in drivers’s earnings up to February 2024 (reported by Benzinga) and that’s an estimated 92% of its completed trips only in Bengaluru.

Initially backed by Juspay (a fintech company backed by SoftBank) Namma Yatri operates on the Beckn Protocol.

Currently standing tall as a tough competition to Ola and Uber, Namma Yatri onboarded over 213,000 drivers and completed over 46 million rides in seven big cities of India including Bengaluru, Delhi, and Chennai.

But how does Namma Yatri make money?

Well, the app doesn’t charge anything from drivers and also nothing from pesssengers for rides, instead Namma Yatri introduced a subscription feature in the ride-hailing industry to let drivers pay a small monthly fee from its drivers and passengers could enjoy fee-less or as you say fee-free rides.

This monetization model is making drivers say goodbye to Uber and Ola as these platforms are charging up to 30% from drivers' pockets while Namma Yatri is giving them freedom from giving any % of their hard-earned money.

The startup is successfully eroding market share from top players like Ola and Uber and all the credit goes to its no-commission and small subscription model to make the company profitable yet open-source and almost a free app.

TechCrunch reported that Moving Tech founders Megizhan Selvan and Shan M S told the media house that after learning about the frustrations of Uber and Ola drivers they found an opportunity to launch Namma Yatri app.

On the other hand, Selvan did something different by personally driving over 500 auto-rickshaw rides to understand the challenges and hurdles of drivers and that’s how they came up with an empathy-based monetization model for their app.

So, Namma Yatri is going to be India's biggest rival for Uber and Ola and aiming to completely remove them from the market.

Let's see what happens next!