As Ola Electric prepares for its public debut next week, it finds itself at the center of a controversy involving allegations of data theft from a publicly listed competitor.
MapMyIndia, which is also publicly listed, has accused Ola of unlawfully using its data to develop the newly launched Ola Maps. The company has issued a legal notice claiming that Ola Electric has been caching and saving MapMyIndia’s data, and reverse-engineering the licensed product obtained through a 2021 agreement. Ola Maps, launched earlier this month, has been made available to developers on Krutrim Cloud.
MapMyIndia’s legal notice alleges, “You have duplicated our client’s API (application programming interface) and SDKs (software development kits) from proprietary sources to build Ola Maps. It is firmly stated that our client’s exclusive data has been copied and used to further your illegal motives and unjust commercial gains.”
The notice also challenges Ola’s assertion that its API and map data were developed independently from open sources. “By engaging in such unscrupulous and illegal activities, you have blatantly violated the terms and conditions of the agreement and infringed upon the copyright vested exclusively in our client concerning the source code,” the notice states.
This development comes shortly after Ola CEO Bhavish Aggarwal announced that Ola Maps would replace Google Maps, claiming it would save the company Rs. 100 crore annually. Ola had made the new maps available on Krutrim Cloud at low prices and encouraged Indian developers to switch from Google Maps. In response, Google reduced its prices for Indian developers, prompting Ola to further slash its prices and offer Ola Maps free for up to two years to small developers.
The timing of these allegations is particularly problematic for Ola, as it gears up for its public listing. The legal notice, which suggests illegal activities by Ola, adds an additional layer of complexity to its upcoming market debut.