Ola buys another startup for Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning solutions – beefing up for its fight with Uber

• The ride hailing app has acqui-hired Bengaluru-based Pikup.ai.
• Pikup.ai uses artificial intelligence, computer vision and sensor fusion to provides AI-powered solutions for businesses.
• This acquisition comes right after Ola set up a technology centre in the Bay Area in the US to drive next gen technological solutions in mobility.

Indian ride-hailing unicorn Ola has acqui-hired (acquired along with the team) Pikup.ai, an artificial intelligence startup, for an undisclosed amount. Pikup.ai uses artificial intelligence, computer vision and sensor fusion to provides seamless AI-powered solutions for businesses.

“As we advance on our mission to build mobility for a billion people, we are investing in futuristic technology solutions that will shape the future of mobility in India and the world,” said Ankit Bhati, Co-founder & CTO, Ola in a statement.

Ola has been investing heavily into technologies for its Ola Mobility wing.

It had also recently set up a technology and innovation centre in the Bay Area. The company is planning to hire over 150 engineers at the new centre, to develop next-generation technologies in mobility. These engineers will be hired across domains like Artificial Intelligence (AI), machine learning, data science, engineering, and product development.

Ola has made several acquisitions in the past – food delivery startup Foodpanda, logistics startup Ridlr, rival ride hailing company Taxiforsure, transportation startup Geotagg and mobile payments platform Qarth.

Ola has been racing ahead in the Indian mobility space, as it continues to be in a fight for the finish with its arch rival Uber. Ola isn’t just fighting Uber in India but also in global markets like Australia, UK etc.

Both Ola and Uber have been investing into new technologies with multiple acquisitions. Uber had recently acquired Seattle-based startup Mighty AI, taking its self driving car vision ahead.