Microsoft looks to drive Azure in India with $100 million investment in Ola ride sharing service

Microsoft’s cloud division is doing very well, and it has netted the company $6.5 billion of the total $23.3 billion reported for the quarter, helping boost the tech giant’s revenues. Even with this so, reports are indicating that Microsoft is looking to expand its Azure presence in India by investing $100 million in ANI Technologies Pvt. Ltd, which runs the Indian ride sharing service, Ola (via MSPU.)

The news comes after Microsoft previously invested in India’s leading online retailer, Flipkart, penning a deal to have the company use Microsoft’s Azure services. This new deal with Ola appears to be similar and it is indicated that the ride hailing service could switch away from Amazon Web Services to Microsoft’s Azure services if all goes as planned. One of two sources familiar with the matter spoke to Livemint about the issue.

“The talks with Ola are in very early stages. More than the money, it is more about Nadella’s vision of partnering with more and more large technology companies in India and establish Azure as service of preference. Microsoft is likely to invest in Ola but a term sheet is yet to be issued.”

Ola is a very valuable start-up in India and is in the process of raising capital, most recently receiving funding from SoftBank Group Corp. It is looking to raise more funding and compete with Uber, which has also been looking for heavy control of the ride sharing market in India.