India’s largest ride hailing platform, Ola today announced that it will set up a first-of-its-kind Advanced Technology Center in San Francisco Bay, USA. The company plans to build a team of over 150 engineers at the centre, who will develop next-generation technologies in mobility.

The company says this move is a part of its global initiatives to further drive mobility-led transformation to billions across the world. Ola’s Advanced Technology Center, which it claims is the first of its kind in the United States, will look to bring world-class talent who will collaborate closely with global teams in the various geographies where Ola operates.

The centre will build cutting-edge technology solutions to accelerate the company’s ambitions across electric mobility and connected vehicles as well as lead futuristic experiments like autonomous vehicles. To achieve this, Ola says it will hire experts in the field of Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, Data Sciences, Engineering and Product Development.

Ankit Bhati, co-founder and CTO said, “We are very excited about launching Ola’s Advanced Technology Center in the Bay Area. The Valley and the talent ecosystem here are very conducive to the development of next-generation mobility solutions. This is also a big step in our journey as a global mobility player, with a mission that talent from around the world are inspired to join us on.”

 “The Advanced Technology Center will be the centre-point of transformative mobility technology in the time to come. We are committed to building world-class mobility innovations and look forward to working with people who are as passionate as we are about building mobility for a billion people,” added Bhati.

Ola has a presence in 150 cities across India, UK, Australia and New Zealand and serves more than 150 million users and completing over a billion rides annually. In India, the company also operates its electric-vehicle arm, Ola Electric, a fleet management business, Ola Fleet Technologies, and a public transportation ticketing app, Ridlr.

Through its platform, Ola also extends unique offerings to consumers through Ola Financial Services that includes micro-insurance products and a range of payment solutions including a credit card as well as through Ola’s Food brands delivered to customers, directly from its vast network of dark kitchens.

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