"Too Little Too Late": Ola CEO Bhavish Aggarwal Slams Google For Slashing Maps' Fee

Ola CEO Bhavish Aggarwal recently slammed Google for reducing the pricing of the Google Maps platform for developers in India by 70 per cent from August 1. The tech giant announced it would introduce a new country-specific pricing structure to make it easier to build location-based solutions. This announcement, however, did not sit well with Mr Aggarwal, who has been batting for Ola Maps powered by his artificial intelligence (AI) startup Krutrim. 

Taking to X (formerly Twitter), Mr Aggarawal said, "Dear @Google, too little too late! Reducing prices for @googlemaps, "offering to price in Rs" after #ExitGoogleMaps. Don't need your fake generosity! Tomorrow, I'll be writing a blog response and announcing major updates on Ola maps @Krutrim. Stay tuned!"

Take a look below: 

Dear @Google, too little too late!

Reducing prices for @googlemaps, “offering to price in ₹” after #ExitGoogleMaps. Don't need your fake generosity!

Tomorrow, I'll be writing a blog response and announcing major updates on Ola maps @Krutrim. Stay tuned! 🇮🇳💪 pic.twitter.com/XlXfp10J2L

— Bhavish Aggarwal (@bhash) July 17, 2024

Social media users were, however, not impressed with Mr Aggarwal's take on the matter. Reacting to the post, one user wrote, "You were using @googlemaps earlier. Now that you have your own OlaMaps, you started abusing @Google. This isn't a roght sprite or very cheap show of professionalism." 

"Hi Bhavish, I think it's fantastic that you are deciding to be self-reliant and also paving way for other Indian businesses to use the Indian Map service. But Ola Map is bad right now. Top many location/lane errors. As a daily user, I feel, there is a lot of scope to make it better. Hope you will take this seriously," commented another. 

"There are better ways to market Ola maps cheaply. Rivalries trick might be bringing a lot of traction on social platforms but leaves a bad after taste. If Ola maps are really good then put comparison matrix between Google and Ola maps," expressed a third user. 

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"Fix your product and then start comparing it with better ones, you are nowhere close to any of your competition in terms of customer satisfaction," commented another. 

Notably, Ola founder Bhavish Aggarwal launched Krutrim's AI chatbot in public beta earlier this year. In May, the AI startup introduced mapping and location-based services for developers via Ola Maps API. Previously, Mr Aggarwal stated that one of Krutrim's key differentiators would be providing services to developers on an "India-first" cost structure. Earlier this month, Mr Aggarwal also said that Ola Cabs had completely exited Google Maps and moved to its in-house Ola Maps.