Ola Cabs Exits Google Maps and Microsoft Azure; Read Why

Ola Cabs has fully exited Google Maps and is shifting to its in-house Ola Maps, as announced by founder-CEO Bhavish Aggarwal in a post on X.

This move is expected to save the company Rs 100 crore annually, which was previously spent on Google Maps. In the coming months, the new Ola Maps will introduce features like street view, neural radiance fields (NERFs), indoor images, 3D maps, and drone maps.

Acquisition of GeoSpoc by Ola Cabs:

In October 2021, Ola acquired GeoSpoc, a Pune-based company specializing in geospatial services. Ola Maps now supports the mapping requirements of its primary ride-hailing application. Additionally, Ola plans to integrate Ola Maps into its electric two-wheelers through a software update in January.

In May, Aggarwal announced that Ola would move its entire workload from Microsoft Azure to its own cloud platform, Krutrim. This decision came after Microsoft-owned LinkedIn removed Aggarwal’s post on ‘pronoun illness,’ which he criticized as a forced ideology over gender pronouns.

This move resulted in a loss of over Rs 100 crore for Microsoft in India. Aggarwal invited other developers to move out of Azure, offering a full year of free cloud usage if they do not return to Azure.

Vision for a Self-Reliant Technology Stack:

Aggarwal emphasized India’s need to develop its full technology stack, including artificial intelligence models, cloud infrastructure, data centers, and chips.

He stressed the importance of data sovereignty, which is where the location and control of data should be within India. According to Aggarwal, building a domestic technology stack is crucial for harnessing the civilization’s economic productivity and cultural strength.

Ola Cabs Historical Partnership with Microsoft Azure:

In 2017, Ola partnered with Microsoft Azure to build a new connected vehicle forum for car manufacturers worldwide. Azure serves as a cloud services provider. Despite this long-standing partnership, Ola’s exit signifies a shift towards self-reliance.

Krutrim, a made-in-India generative artificial intelligence (AI) platform, was launched by Aggarwal last year. Recently, Krutrim introduced an AI cloud service called Krutrim Cloud to help developers and enterprises access advanced GPU resources, accelerating their projects and improving productivity.

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