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Don’t underestimate the power of a…Meru Cab. India’s only profit making taxi services company has recently raised around $25 million from Brand Capital, the investment arm of Bennett, Coleman and Co. Ltd (BCCL), the same group that publishes the Times of India newspaper. 
 
As per the official statement, the money will be used to strengthen the company’s foothold in the country’s domestic taxi-hailing market, increase brand awareness via advertising and promotions, and widen its customer segment. 
 “With the ongoing transformation in the taxi industry, this move is in line with the company's efforts to showcase its services to a larger customer segment via a bouquet of media channels,” said Siddhartha Pahwa, CEO, <keyword id="108722" type="PERSON" weightage="100" keywordseo="Meru-Cabs">Meru Cabs</keyword>. 
 
Since May 2015, when Meru last raised $50 million from its existing investor India Value Fund Advisors (IVFA), it has expanded its taxi service to 24 new cities, launched four new products and expanded its fleet size to over 20,000 vehicles. 
 
Meru entered the highly-competitive online taxi-hailing market back in 2007 when the Maharashtra government invited tenders for GPS-linked electronically metered cab for 10,000 cabs in 2006. 
 
Headquartered in Mumbai, Meru Cabs was launched with a mere 45 taxis back in 2007. It expanded operations to three cities in 2008, namelyDelhi, Hyderabad and Bengaluru, and followed it up with two more - Jaipur and Ahmedabad in 2013 and Chennai in 2015. 
 
India’s organized taxi-hailing market currently stands at over $1.2 billion, and is expected to touch $15 billion by 2022. This enormous opportunity at hand has led to a bitter price war between the likes of Uber and Ola. 
 
<a href="http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/photo/46617743.cms">Image Source</a> 
 
(Disclaimer: Business Insider India is a part of Times Internet Limited, the online arm of Bennett, Coleman and Co. Ltd)

Meru Cabs raises $25 million from Times Group, looking to expand further

The Indian taxi provider, <keyword id="6354720" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Ola">Ola</keyword> cab’s fundraising activity is being noticed by foreign investors China, Scotland as well as United States. 
 Chinese leading cab aggregator, <keyword id="2857463" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Didi-Kuaidi">Didi Kuaidi</keyword> will be putting in around $30 million. Not just this but Ola might have US hedge fund <keyword id="4675629" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Meru-Capital">Meru Capital</keyword> and Scottish investment firm <keyword id="3069934" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Baille-Gifford">Baille Gifford</keyword> as its new investors, as per The Economic Times. 
 If sources are to be believed, Ola is in advanced talks to close fundraising of about $500 million (Rs 3,000 crore) at a valuation above $5 billion. In its new round of <keyword id="6357455" type="EVENT" weightage="20" keywordseo="Funding">funding</keyword>, Falcon Edge and GIC Singapore could emerge as the biggest investors. 
 
Ola is also in talks with New York-based Meru Capital and Scottish investment firm Baille Gifford for funding. 
 
Official sources, requesting anonymity said, "The investors in the round are still being finalised and it is getting oversubscribed, so it may be expanded a bit." 
 
The company’s CEO bhavish Aggarwal, however, didn’t respond to an email query sent to him but he said that the “company is not looking to raise more funding as it does not want to dilute more than 10%." 
 
For the funding round, the company initially estimated a valuation of $4.5 billion before the investment but is now expected to increase it to around $5 billion, depending on the final amount it raises. 
 Japan’s <keyword id="163404" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Softbank">SoftBank</keyword>, also an investor in Didi Kuaidi, in October 2014 valued Ola at around $650 million. 
 Official sources, on condition of anonymity, said that Ola is raising funds in two separate activities with the first raising Rs 1,478 crore included investors like <keyword id="4675626" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Falcon-Edge-Capital">Falcon Edge Capital</keyword>, which put in Rs 515 crore, and Tiger Global, which invested Rs 397 crore and SoftBank put in Rs 384 crore. 
 
The existing investors DST Global and GIC, which didn’t participated in the first round, might join in the second round. 
 The new investors for the first round included Parkwood Bespin and <keyword id="3069933" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="JS-Capital">JS Capital</keyword>, besides Facebook Asia vice president <keyword id="368765" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Dan-Neary">Dan Neary</keyword>. 
 
The investment from Didi Kuaidi, which recently raised $3 billion in one of the largest funding rounds globally, is significant as the Chinese firm has picked up stakes also in Singapore's Grabtaxi and Lyft, both Uber competitors in their respective markets. 
 Ola is expected to cross annual gross revenue run rate of $1 billion by the end of the year, boosted in part by its $200-million acquisition of rival <keyword id="1428790" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="TaxiforSure">TaxiForSure</keyword>, whose revenue has doubled since the deal closed in March. Ola has raised about $700 million overall.

Ola Cabs’ new round of fund raising to value it above $5 billion

<keyword id="1042120" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Uber">Uber</keyword> received a lot of flak in India not too long ago. But the company could be looking to operate in the region through other ways. A new report from The Economic Times suggests that Uber is looking to acquire India based <keyword id="108722" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Meru-Cabs">Meru Cabs</keyword> service for an undisclosed amount. 
 
This move would help Uber build some marketshare in the region as Meru Cabs is a popular name in India. The report further suggests that Meru is looking for somewhere close to $400 million for the acquisition. This should be chump change for a company like Uber which had a recent valuation of $40 billion. 
 India Value Fund Advisors (<keyword id="1455666" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="IVFA">IVFA</keyword>) hold an 80% stake in Meru and it is said that they will look to hold a minority stake in the company even after the acquisition. The exact terms of the acquisition are not known yet, but it seems like the decision could be finalized very soon. 
 
The move makes sense considering that rival cab service Ola was believed to be planning the purchase of Taxi For Sure last week. So it is understandable why Uber would want to step in and join forces with Meru. 
 IVFA was said to be contemplating an IPO or <keyword id="35216" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="initial-public-offering">Initial Public Offering</keyword> for Meru Cabs in a bid to increase revenues. So it seems to be a win-win situation for both Meru and Uber if this acquisition does in fact goes through. 
 
Both Meru and Uber have denied to comment on these reports, so we'll have to wait for more information to pop up. [<a href="http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/emerging-businesses/entrepreneurship/us-based-uber-in-talks-to-buy-meru-cabs/articleshow/46097673.cms">The Economic Times</a>]

Uber Believed To Be Keen On Acquiring Meru Cabs

<a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=Ola+">Ola </a>has now decided to buy its own vehicles and lease them to drivers. The online cab aggregator is considering this move to cut-down the number of independent cabbies who also register with rivals like <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=Uber+">Uber </a>and <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=Meru+">Meru </a>for making more money. 
 If reports are to be believed, <keyword id="6354720" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Ola">Ola</keyword> is planning to invest Rs 5,000 crore on vehicles. The move will come in contrast to its current practice in which Ola partners with drivers having their own vehicles. 
 
In its official statement, Ola has said that it will make the investment through a fully-owned subsidiary. Initially, the firm will invest Rs 500 crore and gradually, it will raise funds independently for this subsidiary, which is separate from its aggregator model. 
 
According to the subsidiary, the drivers will have to get them registered, make a down payment of Rs 25,000-30,000 and pay a monthly subscription fee along with a commission on each ride to get a car on lease. 
 
As per The Economic Times report, the drivers will be attached exclusively to the Ola platform and will have an option to own the vehicle. 
The online platform is piloting the the leasing programme in Bengaluru, Chennai and Hyderabad with more than 1,000 vehicles. Apart from Maruti Suzuki India, Ola is in advanced talks with <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=Mahindra+and+Mahindra">Mahindra and Mahindra</a> and other car manufacturers for outsourcing of cars. 
 
The firm is targeting to enable its leasing model for more than one lakh drivers by the end of 2016. 
 The industry’s two foremost companies, Ola and <keyword id="1042120" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Uber">Uber</keyword> have been struggling to keep their drivers loyal by offering a hefty amount of incentives to them. But unfortunately, the cabbies registered with Ola also ply for Uber and vice-versa, depending on which company offers higher during a particular time, a factor that affects crucial metrics for the taxi firms. 
 
Maroli, newly-appointed vice-president of strategic supply initiatives at Ola says, "This initiative is focussed on getting more quality cars (supply) on the Ola platform. We will be doing background checks, past employment checks as well as a psychographic profile to check integrity of the drivers we get on board.” 
 <keyword id="205081" type="CITY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Meru">Meru</keyword>, which has been following both a lease and an aggregator model for several years, has been profitable for the past three years. "Our lease model gives us a four-year commitment of dedicated supply, and even after competition spending millions, drivers tend to stick to our platform," said Siddhartha Pawha, CEO of Meru Cabs. 
 
image: thinkstock

Ola changes tact to beat Uber at its game! Plans to invest Rs 5,000 crore.

With the increasing competition between the cab service providers in the country, it has become extremely important for them to continue raising cash to stay ahead of their rivals. And perhaps this is what <keyword id="205081" type="CITY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Meru">Meru</keyword> Cabs realised. The Mumbai-headquartered taxi service is in advanced talks with hedge funds <keyword id="2200131" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="Valiant-Capital-Partners">Valiant Capital Partners</keyword> and <keyword id="4675626" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Falcon-Edge-Capital">Falcon Edge Capital</keyword> to raise Rs 627 crore ($100 million), as The Economic Times report. 
 The amount raised by Meru will help the India's oldest radio taxi operator to maintain a stronghold in the fight with it’s competitors like Tiger Global-backed <keyword id="6354720" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Ola">Ola</keyword> and San Francisco-based <keyword id="1042120" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Uber">Uber</keyword>. 
 
Earlier this week, Meru raised $50 million (Rs 300 crore) from existing investor India Value Fund Advisors (IVFA) in order to finance its expansion plan to operate in 40 cities. 
 
Meru CEO Siddhartha Pahwa said, "We are talking to a new set of investors including Hong Kong and US-based hedge funds to raise $100 million at a valuation of $350 million," said Meru CEO Siddhartha Pahwa. 
 
Besides, Meru, which began operations in 2007, is also associating with regional radio taxi operators on a revenue-share basis to expand its fleet at a faster pace. Currently, it has a fleet of more than 50,000 taxis. 
(Image: Meru)

​This is how Meru Cabs plans to give Ola and Uber a run for their money

Across major Indian cities a silent revolution is brewing among taxi drivers who are gaining from the advent of a new breed of startups that are transforming the industry. 
 
Monthly income of several taxi drivers have at least tripled and a few with leadership skills have become entrepreneurs themselves, by managing scores of other drivers. 
 
The startups, which use technology to manage this network of drivers and link them to customers, earn a 2-5 per cent commission from the driver on every trip. Companies like Olacabs, TaxiForSure, Meru and Uber are making a dent in India's taxi-rentals market estimated at about $ 6 billion. 
 
In the process, they are changing the lives of thousands of drivers. ET takes a close look at five people who have benefited enormously from this rising trend. 
 
Khamer Gulzar B.Com first year dropout MERU CABS INCOME BEFORE: NIL 
 After having worked in Dubai as a sales executive for about 15 years, Khamer Gulzar returned to India in 2003 with some <keyword id="25450" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="savings">savings</keyword> to start a restaurant. It failed. He started a used car business with the leftover savings. 
 
Two failed ventures landed Gulzar in deep debt of Rs 15 lakh. That's when he decided to join Meru Cabs as a driver in 2009. Within four years, Gulzar has become debt free. He earns about Rs 40,000 per month, of which he saves nearly Rs 10,000. 
 
"My next goal is to buy my own house and ensure my kids have the best education," said Gulzar, a father to two school-going children. "My daughter wants to be a doctor and I can support her dream with this job," said Gulzar, who owns a Mahindra Logan cab. 
 
Bharathi Veerath School dropout UBER INCOME BEFORE: Rs 14,000 
 
Bharathi Veerath migrated from Warangal in 2005 to Bangalore with her mother and brother in search of a livelihood. A school dropout, she took to odd jobs of tailoring and working in travel agencies, before taking to driving taxis with an all women operated Angel Cabs last year. 
 Veerath was the first woman licenced <keyword id="51966" type="POSITION" weightage="20" keywordseo="Taxi-driver">taxi driver</keyword> in India. She earned Rs 15,000 per month till October as a driver with Angel Cabs, when she heard of India entry of USbased taxi hailing application Uber. She decided to risk and join Uber. Veerath bought a <keyword id="67915" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="Ford-Fiesta">Ford Fiesta</keyword>, loaned by Canara Bank on an <keyword id="6357050" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="EMI">EMI</keyword> of Rs 17,000 per month. Within five months, her income increased to Rs 45,000 per month, from her own car which she drives for Uber and other taxi fleet operators. 
 "Owning my car has given me freedom to work upon my will," said Veerath, who loves to drive for almost 12 hours a day. When not in a mood to take work, she simply switches off her <keyword id="6354606" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="iPhone">iPhone</keyword> which has the Uber app loaded on it. 
 
GG Balaji SSC dropout SAVAARI INCOME BEFORE: Rs 10,000 
 
While taking a few tourists around Coorg last year, Bangalore-based <keyword id="6371561" type="POSITION" weightage="20" keywordseo="Cab-driver">cab driver</keyword> GG Balaji's father suffered a cardiac problem. He left the cab in Coorg and returned to Bangalore to mortgage family gold to have a bypass surgery done for his father. None of the local taxi operators came to his rescue. 
 
That's when Balaji decided to attach himself to Savaari Car Rentals, an Intel Capital-funded taxi rentals startup, as a full time driver. His monthly income has grown from Rs 10,000 per month to Rs 35,000 within six months. Over and above that, Balaji gets a diesel allowance of about Rs 20,000 per month. 
 
"It's a nice feeling to know that a fixed salary will get credited every month," said Balaji, who had earlier served in Indian Army's Corp of Artillery Air Defence till 1996 on the borders. Balaji's next goal is to buy a plot of land. "I am also buying a Tata Manza this Diwali and attaching a relative of mine who will pay me a monthly commission on it," said Balaji. 
 
Reshma Banu 12th Standard Pass OLACABS INCOME BEFORE: NIL 
 
 
Bangalore-based Reshma Banu, a housewife, morphed into a mini entrepreneur in 2006 when she started her car rental business in 2006, egged on by her husband. She bought a Tata Indica with a bank loan. With the emergence of taxi startups in Bangalore, last year, her business took off. 
 Banu signed up with Olacabs as an operator last year. Her business has now grown to a fl eet of 16 cars, which includes Innovas, Fiestas and Micras. "I bought five <keyword id="46283" type="CITY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Nissan">Nissan</keyword> Micra cars for use in Olacabs last month at a discount of Rs 1 lakh per car offered by the company," she said. 
 
"The drive to be an independent woman keeps me motivated," said Banu. Banu has also tied up with seven more aggregators and earns a net profit of about Rs 1 lakh a month, from Olacabs alone. "My next goal is to buy five more cars, this year," she added. 
 
Rajesh Kumar 7th Standard Pass TAXIFORSURE INCOME BEFORE: Rs 15,000 
 
Delhi-based Rajesh Kumar used to be a bus driver earning Rs 15,000 per month before he attached himself with TaxiForSure in January, last year. 
 
On a visit to Delhi, TaxiForSure chief executive Aprameya Radhakrishnan, asked Kumar, the name of a company, if he ever owned one. Kumar came out with the name 'Shabnam Cabs'. 
 
In March 2013, Shabnam Cabs was up and running in Delhi as a local taxi operator. The 43-year-old now has over 100 cab drivers under him, and earns a commission of 2 per cent per trip from each of them in addition to Rs 1,000 as monthly commission per driver. 
 
His monthly gross income has increased 10-fold to Rs 1.2 lakh, out of which he gets a profit Rs 60,000. Father of two grown up kids, Kumar plans to have his son involved in the business, after he graduates from Delhi University. 
 
"My next goal is to expand my business to Chandigarh and Jaipur," said Kumar, who was recently flown to Hyderabad by TaxiForSure to coach newly attached drivers.

You Searched For "Meru Cabs funding" and got 6 results

Meru Cabs raises $25 million from Times Group, looking to expand further

BI India Bureau

Ola Cabs’ new round of fund raising to value it above $5 billion

BI India Bureau

Uber Believed To Be Keen On Acquiring Meru Cabs

Chethan Rao

Ola changes tact to beat Uber at its game! Plans to invest Rs 5,000 crore.

BI India Bureau

This is how Meru Cabs plans to give Ola and Uber a run for their money

BI India Bureau

How Startups Like Meru, Uber, Olacabs, TaxiForSure Have Transformed Lives Of Taxi Drivers

ET Auto

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You Searched For "Meru Cabs funding" and got 6 results

Meru Cabs raises $25 million from Times Group, looking to expand further

BI India Bureau

Ola Cabs’ new round of fund raising to value it above $5 billion

BI India Bureau

Uber Believed To Be Keen On Acquiring Meru Cabs

Chethan Rao

Ola changes tact to beat Uber at its game! Plans to invest Rs 5,000 crore.

BI India Bureau

​This is how Meru Cabs plans to give Ola and Uber a run for their money

BI India Bureau

How Startups Like Meru, Uber, Olacabs, TaxiForSure Have Transformed Lives Of Taxi Drivers

ET Auto

Popular Keywords

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This is how Meru Cabs plans to give Ola and Uber a run for their money