Ola Maps Faces Roadblock as MapMyIndia Alleges Data Theft

CE Info Systems, the parent company of MapMyIndia, has filed a lawsuit against Ola Electric, alleging that the ride aggregator has unlawfully copied and reverse-engineered its data to develop Ola Maps. The complaint, reviewed by Forbes India, accuses Ola of using proprietary information obtained through an agreement signed in 2021.

CE Info Systems claims that Ola duplicated its API and SDKs from proprietary sources to build Ola Maps. The legal notice asserts that Ola's assertion of developing its maps using only open-source data is incorrect. The notice also highlights that the agreement explicitly prohibited co-mingling and reverse engineering, which CE Info Systems alleges Ola has violated.

The company contends that Ola's actions represent a breach of intellectual property laws and the terms of their agreement. CE Info Systems has accused Ola of engaging in illegal activities for commercial gain and misusing confidential information.

Ola Electric has denied the allegations made by CE Info Systems. “Ola Electric wishes to address the recent claims made by CE Info Systems Limited (‘CE Info’) regarding the alleged issues with Ola Maps in relation to MapMyIndia, as reported in the news media. We unequivocally state that these allegations are false, malicious, and misleading. Ola Electric stands by the integrity of its business practices and will respond to the notice shortly," said Ola Electric spokesperson.

Ola Electric is preparing for its Rs 6,100-crore IPO, with the anchor investor bidding starting on August 1.

CE Info Systems has declined to comment further on the matter.

After exiting Microsoft Azure, Ola recently moved away from Google Maps and shifted to in-house Ola Maps. “We’ve been using Western apps to map India for too long, and they don’t understand our unique challenges: street names, urban changes, complex traffic, non-standard roads, etc,” posted Ola chief Bhavish Aggarwal on Aggarwal on X.

Moreover, After Google announced a 70% price cut for Google Maps API, Aggarwal challenged the tech giant by announcing an even more reduced pricing structure and the future product roadmap for Ola Maps.

“As promised, here's our response to @googlemaps’ ‘belated’ price cuts. It’s time we build world-class alternatives to big tech giants and empower Indian innovation! I’m very excited to announce a further reduced pricing structure and our future product roadmap for Ola Maps @Krutrim,” he posted on X.

Ola Maps has announced a new pricing structure and is now available on the cloud with a free one-year subscription. The updated structure includes a free tier for 5 million API calls per month, covering the needs of over 90% of Indian developers and startups. For larger volumes, Ola Maps offers prices at half of Google's reduced rates, with additional benefits for long-term commitments.

Furthermore, Ola has introduced a special offer for startups and SMBs building on the ONDC platform, providing three years of free access to Ola Maps.

[Update] July 29, 2024, 9:30 p.m. | The story has been updated to include comments from Ola Electric.