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Indian ride-hailing giant, Ola – which saw its valuation cut to $2 billion by Vanguard earlier this month, is jumping into the quick commerce game — more specifically into the quick food delivery space. It today announced ‘Dash’, a 10 minute quick delivery service in the food space — a model that is highly debated, specially over what quality of food one can get served in 10 minutes. Along with this, it has also announced nationwide expansion of its food services ‘Ola Food’ with the Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC), a government initiative to provide an open network for exchanging goods and services digitally.

At present, the Dash service is being launched in Bengaluru,. With the government-run Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC) – gaining massive popularity among startups and major conglomerates like Adani and Reliance – Ola is now trying to leverage its combined scale, efficiency, and cost savings.

Founded in 2010 and becoming a unicorn in 2015, Ola Consumer (previously ‘Ola Cabs’) has announced plans to deploy 100,000 electric two-wheelers over the next two years as part of its efforts to drive electrification in ride-hailing. Interestingly, this announcement comes at a time when India’s consumer regulator, the Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA), is investigating (formally initiated on November 6, 2024) Ola Electric – debuted with IPO in August this year – over unresolved customer complaints. However, in its defense, Ola Electric claimed it had resolved 99.1% of the reported complaints to customers’ satisfaction.

Ola Food Expansion Plan

Speaking about Ola Food, this latest expansion will increase its operational presence to 100 cities. Backed by SoftBank, Tiger Global, Matrix Partners (now Z47), Temasek, and more, Ola Consumer – which neared 1 lakh daily orders on ONDC in August this year – is also looking to boost these numbers with subscription-free deals, offering 10 times more OlaCoins and other benefits.

If this is not enough, Ola Consumer’s new initiative – Dash – will offer freshly prepared food delivered in just 10 minutes. The company also claims that Dash delivers from a curated selection of nearby restaurants. With a pilot launch in Bengaluru, the Bhavish Aggarwal-led company plans to expand this service to other cities in the coming months.

“India’s quick commerce landscape is at a pivotal moment, driven by technology and ever-evolving consumer needs. With the Pan-India expansion of Ola Food and the launch of Dash in Bengaluru, on ONDC, we’re offering a faster, more affordable, and seamless food delivery experience. This expansion reflects our commitment to democratising commerce, leveraging ONDC’s open network to make quality services accessible to all.”, Bhavish Aggarwal, Chairman & Managing Director of Ola Consumer said while commenting on the latest development.

Toronto-headquartered YouTube competitor Rumble is receiving a fresh strategic investment of $775 million from Tether, the stablecoin giant with over 350 million users around the globe. The free-to-use video-sharing and web hosting provider plans to allocate $250 million of the proceeds to support growth initiatives. The remaining funds will be used for a self-tender offer of up to 70 million shares of its Class A Common Stock. The company CEO, Chris Pavlovski has committed to tender and does not intend to sell more than 10 million shares of Class A Common Stock.

Founded in 2013, Rumble will not have any Tether representatives on its board, and the blockchain-enabled platform will hold only a minority position in the outstanding common stock. Meanwhile – with over 67 million monthly active users in September – Rumble’s shares surged by 41% in after-hours trading, reaching $10.13. According to the company, Tether is offering $7.50 per share for its stake in this deal.

“This transaction provides an immediate liquidity event for all of our stockholders who elect to participate in the self-tender offer. I truly believe Tether is the perfect partner that can put a rocket pack on the back of Rumble as we prepare for our next phase of growth,” Rumble’s Chairman and CEO Chris Pavlovski said while commenting on the development. This also benefits Pavlovski, as he will retain his controlling stake after the completion of the transaction.

According to the agreed terms, Tether has agreed to purchase 103,333,333 shares of Rumble Class A Common Stock at a price per share of $7.50. This investment from Tether comes at a time when the crypto market is gaining rapid momentum, as U.S. President-elect Donald Trump seems to support (and even promote) the digital currency domain.

Turning to Rumble itself, the platform started as an alternative to YouTube for small content creators and also offers web hosting and cloud services. According to the company, it opposes censorship and prides itself on being one of the few ‘neutral’ and ‘independent’ platforms. It also claims that the platform is immune to cancel culture. As noted earlier, the platform is free to use however, in 2021 the company acquired Locals, which allows users on Rumble to buy subscriptions to access exclusive content.

On the financial part, Rumble’s revenue for the quarter ending September 30, 2024, reached $25.06M, reflecting a 39.34% growth. The company’s total revenue for the past year stands at $85.65M, a 6.36% increase year-over-year. In 2023, the firm achieved an annual revenue of $80.96M, marking a growth of 105.57%.

Ola Food Expansion Plan

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