Ola Cabs switches from Google Maps to internal Ola Maps

India's largest ride-hailing company, Ola Cabs, has switched from using Google Maps to its own internal Ola Maps for operations, saving around Rs 100 crore annually.

"We have completely removed Google Maps. We used to spend Rs 100 crore annually, but this month, we cut that to zero by switching entirely to our internal Ola maps! Check your Ola app and update if needed," said Bhavish Aggarwal, Ola Group Chairman and Co-founder.

The statement was made three months after the Ola group severed their relationship with Microsoft Azure and transferred all of their workload to their internal artificial intelligence (AI) company, Krutrim.

Aggarwal posted on X on May 11 that the company was cutting off its connection with Microsoft Azure and would transfer all tasks to its artificial intelligence company Krutrim in less than a week.

The company announced that there would be mapping solutions included in the cloud services, along with the introduction of its Krutrim AI.

Ola Maps plans to offer location intelligence services, such as mapping and location-based ones, to developers in addition to AI compute.

Ola purchased GeoSpoc, a geospatial services firm based in Pune, in October 2021. Currently, Ola Maps meets the mapping requirements of the company's main ride-hailing application.

Furthermore, the business had stated that starting in January, a software upgrade for its electric two-wheelers would include Ola Maps.