Uber sold the India operations of its food delivery service, Uber Eats, to Zomato in January 2020, getting a 10% stake in the Deepinder Goyal-led company in return. It went on to sell these Zomato shares in August 2022 for around $390 million.
“We’re not a holding company. We’re not an investment company. That is not my core competency: to take Uber investors’ capital and invest it really well. My competency is to build a big operating business that, over a period of time, grows top line, brings in lots of consumers all over the world, and, ultimately, throws off a lot of profitability, and we can build up a share price. My skill in terms of investment is not going to be a significant factor in the value creation here,” Khosrowshahi said in conversation with Zerodha cofounder Nikhil Kamath.
On whether he will buy Eternal shares today, Khosrowshahi said he hasn’t considered the proposition lately, but acknowledged that the company has done a “great job” with the food delivery business.
“And now, the instant grocery business, Blinkit, I’ve heard, is actually larger than the core Zomato business,” the Uber CEO noted.
In the April-June quarter, Blinkit’s net order value (NOV) grew 127% year-on-year (YoY) to Rs 9,203 crore, eclipsing Zomato’s Rs 8,967 crore.
‘India a must-win’
Additionally, Khosrowshahi positioned India as a key market for Uber, revealing the country is the third largest in terms of mobility trips.
“We’ve got over 1.4 million now, drivers, auto, you know, two-wheelers, three-wheelers and four-wheelers in India. The growth there is spectacular. I think India is already one of the great countries in the world, but if you look at it as a share of GDP, it’s only going to increase,” Khosrowshahi said.
Much of Uber’s talent pool around the world comes from Indian descent as well, he added.
“So, India is an absolute must-win for Uber, not just tomorrow, but ten years from now,” he said.
Bhavish Aggarwal ‘distracted’, Ola a ‘distant third’
Uber chief executive Dara Khosrowshahi said Ola has slipped in India’s ride-hailing race, suggesting founder Bhavish Aggarwal got distracted by other avenues in mobility. He called Rapido a tougher competitor in India for Uber, with Ola now a distant third.
“I think he (Ola’s chief Bhavish Aggarwal) got distracted by other interesting areas for him,” the Uber executive said, noting that Ola was once Uber’s biggest rival in India.
“We were always going head-to-head with Ola in terms of category position in the marketplace. I think Ola is now a distant third,” he said while speaking on Zerodha cofounder Nikhil Kamath’s podcast People by WTF.
Uber vs Rapido
When asked about Rapido’s success over other ride-hailing platforms in India, Khosrowshahi pointed out Rapido’s subscription model, which allows drivers to operate commission-free after paying a daily fee, has helped it win market share.
“Rapido is essentially taking a zero commission. Then the driver’s pay is higher. I think that was the smart way for them to break into the marketplace,” he added.
However, he still questioned the company’s long-term viability even after aggressive expansion in two- and three-wheeler rides.
“Rapido is not making money….so the real test of the business is not how fast you can grow if you’re spending, it’s actually how fast you can grow while you are profitable. And I think Rapido is a long way away from that,” Khosrowshahi said.
Rapido’s gross order value (GOV) surged to $1.25 billion in FY25, up 2.5x from $500 million a year earlier, driven by service expansion. But the growth has come at a cost, with higher cash burn pushing it further from profitability.
Amid heightened competition, Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi said: “We intend to compete really hard with them (Rapido).”
Also Read: Rapido, not Ola, is Uber’s biggest rival in India: CEO Dara Khosrowshahi
Eye on mobility
In an exclusive interview with ET last year, Uber CEO had shared that the platform has over 900,000 earners in India, adding that the Indian market is getting more competitive.
He acknowledged the rise of younger players in the mobility business, saying: “We have to make sure we’re on our toes.”
“One of the strengths of Uber is that we have big markets like the US and Europe that are highly profitable, which allows us to lean into places like India that aren’t just high potential but also large,” he added.
On the point about Ola getting distracted, Khosrowshahi on the other hand, had made it clear to remain “undistracted” with a sharp focus on mobility business citing India as a high-growth market for Uber.
“While (rival) Ola focuses on other areas…we love the ride-sharing business. We also continue to expand into new categories and are dedicated to sustainability. Some of our competitors are distracted by shiny, new efforts and IPOs, that’s great. I’m undistracted and completely focused on the mobility business,” he told ET.
Also Read: Upstarts are everywhere, we have to be constantly on our toes in India: Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi