Bhavish Aggarwal launches Ola Maps as alternative to Google Maps

Ola, the ride-hailing cab aggregator, has announced a significant shift in its operations by fully transitioning from Google Maps to its own in-house mapping service, Ola Maps, on July 5. This move comes shortly after the company’s recent exit from Microsoft’s Azure platform.

Bhavish Aggarwal, CEO of Ola, took to Twitter to share the news. "After Azure exit last month, we’ve now fully exited Google Maps. We used to spend ₹100 crore a year, but we’ve made that 0 this month by moving completely to our in-house Ola Maps! Check your Ola app and update if needed 😉," Aggarwal tweeted.

India's Ola Electric is advancing its efforts to develop solid-state batteries, aiming for their electric scooters to be powered by these innovative cells by next year. This announcement was made by Bhavish Aggarwal, the founder and chairman of the electric scooter manufacturer, which is backed by SoftBank Group.

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"We are in very early stages of our experimentation on solid state batteries," stated Aggarwal.

Aggarwal anticipates that Ola's own cells will power its electric scooters, which are among the best-selling in India, by early next year. This timeline aligns with the start of commercial production at Ola's cell 'gigafactory' in Southern Tamil Nadu.

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The gigafactory, operated by a subsidiary of Ola Electric, has been selected for the Indian government's battery manufacturing incentive scheme. This initiative aims to boost local production capabilities and reduce dependency on imports.

Solid-state batteries are known for their enhanced safety features, longer lifespan, and faster charging times compared to traditional lithium-ion batteries, which use flammable liquid electrolytes.

However, widespread adoption has been challenging due to limited raw material availability, complex manufacturing processes, and high costs.