Is Uber Indian? The Ride-Hailing App Ola Was Built to Beat

For millions of urban Indians, getting across town means opening one of two apps: Ola or Uber. Uber arrived in India in 2013 and quickly became one of the two dominant ride-hailing platforms, offering cars, autos, and bikes in cities across the country.

We have covered Ola before — Indian-founded and founder-controlled. Uber is the other half of that duopoly, and its answer is very different.

The short answer: Uber is foreign-controlled — an American company.

The parent

Uber was founded in 2009 in San Francisco. Its parent, Uber Technologies, Inc., is listed on the New York Stock Exchange. In India it operates through local subsidiaries such as Uber India Systems Pvt. Ltd., wholly controlled by the US parent.

There is no Indian ownership of the platform. The commission Uber takes on each ride — after Indian costs and taxes — accrues to the American parent.

The Zomato episode

Uber once ran a food-delivery business in India too: Uber Eats. In January 2020 it sold Uber Eats India to Zomato, receiving a stake in Zomato in return rather than cash. Uber later sold that Zomato stake in 2022. The episode is a neat illustration of how foreign platforms sometimes exit Indian markets — and how ownership stakes move around behind familiar apps.

The drivers are Indian; the platform is not

The cars, autos, and bikes on Uber are overwhelmingly owned by Indian drivers, and the fares are paid by Indian riders. But the platform — the app, the algorithm, the brand, and the commission it earns on every trip — belongs to Uber Technologies in the United States. It is the same distinction this platform draws for marketplaces like Amazon: Indian sellers, foreign-owned marketplace.

The Indian alternatives

• Ola — Indian-founded by Bhavish Aggarwal and founder-controlled, though backed by foreign venture investors
• Namma Yatri — an Indian, open-network ride app built on the ONDC/Beckn protocols, which charges drivers a subscription instead of a per-ride commission
• Rapido — Indian-founded bike-taxi and auto platform, with a mix of Indian and foreign investors

The verdict

Uber is foreign-controlled — owned by Uber Technologies, Inc., San Francisco, USA. Indian drivers do the work and Indian riders pay the fares, but the platform and its commission are American. Ola and Namma Yatri are the Indian-founded alternatives for the same trip.

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