Bhavish Aggarwal, the co-founder and chairman of Ola Group, recently announced that developers should consider transitioning away from Google Maps and instead utilize Ola Maps on the AI-powered Krutrim platform. To encourage this transition, Ola is offering one-year free access to Ola Maps for all developers, along with over Rs 100 crore in free credits.
Aggarwal emphasized the need for developers to move on from Western mapping apps that may not accurately reflect India’s unique challenges, such as street names, urban changes, complex traffic patterns, and non-standard roads. Ola Maps is specifically tailored to address these challenges, incorporating India-specific algorithms powered by AI and real-time data from millions of vehicles. The platform has also contributed significantly to open source initiatives, with over 5 million edits made to Open Street Maps last year alone.
According to Aggarwal, Ola Maps surpasses competitors in terms of location accuracy, search accuracy, search latency, and estimated time of arrival (ETA) accuracy. The company’s commitment to utilizing diverse data sets, including real-time vehicle data, 360 camera-equipped Ola S1s, government repositories, OpenStreetMap, and proprietary sources, ensures the most precise mapping data possible.
In addition to transitioning away from Google Maps, Ola recently made the decision to discontinue its use of Microsoft Azure in favor of Krutrim, an in-house artificial intelligence platform. By consolidating all of the company’s workloads onto Krutrim, Aggarwal has demonstrated Ola’s commitment to leveraging cutting-edge technology to enhance its services and operations.
Overall, Ola’s strategic shift towards in-house mapping and artificial intelligence technologies underscores the company’s dedication to utilizing innovative solutions to address the unique challenges of the Indian market. By offering developers free access to Ola Maps and investing in the development of proprietary mapping technologies, Ola is positioning itself as a leader in the Indian tech industry.
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https://www.thehansindia.com/amp/business/after-microsoft-azure-its-time-for-indian-developers-to-exit-google-maps-ola-ceo-890219