Why an Indian startup founder turned down a $1.1 billion SoftBank deal
Ola co-founder Bhavish Aggarwal is fighting to maintain his independence against SoftBank Group Corp. The Japanese conglomerate, led by Masayoshi Son, was an early backer of Ola.
- Startups, when they raise venture money to build their businesses, begin with a Series A round and then proceed through Series E, F or maybe G before going public.
- The Japanese conglomerate, led by Masayoshi Son, was an early backer of Ola, but Aggarwal has grown concerned about its influence as SoftBank took a stake in his archrival, Uber Technologies Inc., and then encouraged the rivals to merge.
- Saudi Arabia contributed nearly half of the capital for Son's $100 billion Vision Fund.
- Yet as the two sides worked to finalize the agreement, SoftBank held talks to invest in Uber -- and Aggarwal grew more wary of the impact on Ola.