Ola raises $2 billion from Softbank, Tencent, other investors.

Chinese internet giant has concluded a USD 2 billion fund raising from Tencent, Japan’s SoftBank and other US-based investors, according to multiple news reports. Tencent has concluded a $400 million investment in the Indian cab aggregator, according to a report in The Economic Times. The fresh round of investment has pegged the Bangalore-based startup’s valuation at more than USD 3.8 billion.

While the transaction has been confirmed, the agreement is still awaiting approval from the Competition Commission of India (CCI). “The investment has been completed and the understanding is that a sizeable portion will be allotted towards boosting the electric vehicle segment,” a source told the newspaper. The report also suggested that Ola could raise more investment from US-based hedge funds Coatue Management in this round.

Tencent’s investment in the cab-hailing firm is part of its ongoing round of financing. Ola has managed to pick up investments worth USD 800 million since November 2016.

Tencent’s entry could help Ola counter influence of its largest shareholder SoftBank. In November 2016, SoftBank had invested USD 250 million in Ola.

It has also raised USD 150 million from funds such as Ratan Tata’s venture fund RNT Capital Advisors, US-based hedge fund Falcon Edge and New York-based hedge fund Tekne Capital Management.

Investor interest in Ola has increased at a time when its rival Uber is facing internal challenges.

Several reports suggest that Ola was the market leader in August having completed approximately 1.5 million rides per day against Uber’s 1.3 million rides per day.

Earlier this year, Uber exited direct operations in Russia. In 2016, it had sold its China-business to rival Didi Chuxing.

Softbank’s Vision Fund and Tencent had also invested a total of around USD 4 billion in e-commerce giant Flipkart this year.