Ola and Uber are in a “late-stage duopoly”.

After spending billions and billions of dollars, they have finally secured pole positions in ride-sharing in India.

Both of these companies together control 70% of the market and they have created network effects that make it much harder for anyone to enter and compete with them.

However, this particular situation is facing some new challenges and just like how Uber and Ola conquered city after city using a disruptive model and technology, the same thing threatens to happen to them.

Ola and Uber are facing structural disruptions from multiple fronts in India.

In today’s episode, hosts Praveen Gopal Krishnan and Rohin Dharmakumar try to answer how the disruptors are getting disrupted by upstarts who are coming in with both business model innovation and newer fleets which offer a significantly better experience, which was the original promise of Ola and Uber as well.

So what is the next stage of disruption in ride-hailing look like in India? Is it EV fleets? Is it democratized tech-enabler platforms like ONDC which enable platforms like Nammayatri? Are we looking at the return of local taxi operators? 

And most importantly, what should Ola and Uber do to defend their position as new incentive models are introduced for both drivers and passengers?

Welcome to episode 14 of Two by Two.

Joining the hosts for the discussion are Nilesh Sangoi, CIO of Fincare Small Finance Bank, previously CEO of Meru Cabs; Pradeep Puranam, Head of Revenue and Operations at Yulu, ex-Udaan and -Uber; and returning guest Professor Srinivasan R, who teaches Strategy at IIM Bangalore.

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Praveen Gopal Krishnan

How will Ola and Uber avoid “death by a thousand cuts”?

What is their biggest threat? What must they do differently?

(Listen to the free highlights only episode on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music, YouTube or wherever you get your podcasts)

Episode referenced:

Will Flipkart become Phonepe before Phonepe becomes Flipkart?

Stories referenced:

Rapido rips up the Uber-Ola playbook for cabs

This episode of Two by Two was researched and produced by Hari Krishna. Rajiv CN, our resident sound engineer, mixed and mastered this episode.

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