Google has invested in Moving Tech, the firm behind Namma Yatri, an Indian open-source ridesharing application. The Bengaluru-based business secured $11 million in a pre-Series A investment headed by Blume Ventures and Antler. According to the report, Google took part in this round after committing to invest $10 billion in India. Namma Yatri works with the Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC), a government-backed program to democratize e-commerce in India.

Unlike Uber and Ola, Namma Yatri does not charge commissions. Instead, it links clients with auto-rickshaws and cab drivers for a nominal monthly charge set by its driver partners. Uber and Ola charge drivers 25% to 30% of the trip fee and have not joined the ONDC network. Namma Yatri was started in 2022 and has completed over 46 million trips in several Indian cities, including Bengaluru and Hyderabad.

Moving Tech's co-founders, Magizhan Selvan and Shan M S, recognized an opportunity to solve drivers' dissatisfaction with these existing organizations. Moving Tech seeks to provide a truly beneficial service without offering consumer discounts or driver incentives. To better understand the issues that drivers face, co-founder Selvan claimed to have driven over 500 auto-rickshaw journeys. The firm says that this activity helped them become more sensitive to the drivers.

Moving Tech claims to be operationally profitable and does not anticipate the need to seek significant financing. Juspay, a financial services firm funded by SoftBank, fostered the startup. Namma Yatri intends to utilize the new cash to expand its engineering and R&D teams, as well as to investigate alternative modes of transportation, such as buses.

What is ONDC?

The Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC) is a Government of India program that promotes open networks based on open-source principles. This implies that consumers and sellers from different e-commerce platforms may connect and transact with one another, regardless of the platform they use.

Consider it a vast online marketplace where small and large businesses may present their items and buyers can locate what they need, all without being limited to a single e-commerce site. This contributes to a level playing field for all vendors, particularly small enterprises and local stores, by giving them an equal opportunity to access a bigger client base.