The Competition Commission of India (CCI) has recently approved a proposed $300 million investment in homegrown ride-hailing platform Ola and its electric mobility subsidiary Ola Electric from Korean automakers Hyundai Motor and Kia Motors.

The CCI announced its approval for the foreign investment in ANI Technologies, which operates the platform, and OLA Electric
Most of the new investment will be ploughed into Ola’s parent entity, ANI Technologies. Hyundai and its affiliate, Kia, will also take a minority stake in Ola Electric.

The deal was in danger as the regulator initially

considered it invalid after ANI Technologies failed to provide details of the impact of the proposed combination on competition in the ride-hailing space as requested by the regulator. The companies then refilled a modified proposal in September.

Earlier in March, Ola said it was raising $300 million from the Hyundai Group to build an India-specific fleet and mobility solutions and infrastructure. Last year, the South Korean automaker invested $275 million in Singapore-based ride-hailing firm Grab. Separately, ANI Technologies is likely to see its valuation bump by close to 20% to $8 billion as it stitches together another investment round. The round will see Microsoft investing about $170-200 million in the ride-hailing app, people privy to the matter said.

Some small family offices and Korean funds may also participate in the round, these people said, adding that those conversations were at an early stage. Ola and Microsoft spokespeople declined to comment on the investment round. Microsoft and Ola have been working together since 2017 to build connected vehicle platform Ola Play. The Bengaluru-based company last raised Rs 35.9 crore in September from an investment fund named ARK Ola Pre-IPO Private Investment Trust. In India, HMC primarily operates through its subsidiary Hyundai Motors India, while KMC operates through its subsidiary Kia Motors India Private Limited.