Ola’s CEO has criticized the legal notice from MapMyIndia, describing it as “opportunistic.”
Ola CEO Dismisses MapMyIndia’s Legal Accusations as “Opportunistic”
Following allegations from MapMyIndia that Ola CEO Bhavish Aggarwal used its data to develop Ola Maps, Aggarwal has dismissed these claims as “opportunistic” and promised to address the issue at a later time.
Ola CEO Bhavish Aggarwal & MapMyIndia CEO Rohan Verma
MapMyIndia has accused Bhavish Aggarwal of copying its data for Ola Maps, a charge Aggarwal has rejected as opportunistic. He stated, “It is opportunistic of MapMyIndia; there are opportunistic players everywhere. We will respond to them at the right time,” according to Moneycontrol.
Ola Maps was introduced as an alternative to Google Maps, and Ola has shifted its services from Google to its own mapping platform. MapMyIndia’s parent company, CE Info Systems, issued a legal notice to Ola Electric, alleging that Ola used MapMyIndia’s data in violation of their licensing agreement, which prohibited such use and reverse engineering.
MapMyIndia claims that Ola’s actions, which included caching and saving data, breached their 2021 licensing agreement. The firm has indicated it will pursue both civil and criminal legal action against Ola Electric.
Ola Electric had previously collaborated with MapMyIndia in 2022 to integrate navigation services for its S1 Pro electric scooter. Ola’s spokesperson has denied the allegations, labeling them as false and misleading, and affirmed that the company adheres to strong business practices. The company plans to respond formally to the notice.
Ola Electric is also scheduled to go public on August 2.
Social Media Reaction:
Online reactions have been critical of Ola CEO’s comments.
One user wrote, “I know Rahul Verma of MapMyIndia for many years and can assure you he’s not arrogant. The quality of MapMyIndia’s GIS data is top-notch and they are a real Indian success story!”
Another user commented, “The OLA CEO seems super arrogant. A friend of mine who worked with Ola was harassed by him when he decided to leave.”
A third user said, “It’s clear that Ola hasn’t done much of its own mapping. They’ve likely incorporated a lot of data from Google Maps.”