Stability and Innovation: How Uber balances local ambitions with global priorities

In 2022, as the Covid-19 pandemic was receding and markets were opening up, reports emerged that global ride-hailing major Uber was done with the Indian market. Uber, the reports stated,  was either looking to sell its India business to arch-rival Ola or was exploring a merger. While both Uber and Ola denied the rumours, Uber’s case wasn’t helped by the fact that the company had exited the Indian food delivery space two years prior, selling its Uber Eats arm to local foodtech leader Zomato.

Indeed, at the time, it wasn’t difficult to believe Uber may be giving up the ghost in India. While the pandemic and the subsequent lockdowns left the ride-hailing sector in limbo, the perception right before the pandemic was that Ola had defeated Uber, at least in terms of perception if not in significant market share.

But even as Ola founder Bhavish Aggarwal shifted his attention to building an EV manufacturing company, Uber stuck to its guns in a radically dynamic ride-hailing market. Today, even as upstarts such as Rapido and Namma Yatri take on Ola and Uber with new business models, Uber remains the market leader in its core cab segment.