Ola, Microsoft Partner on Connected Car Platform

Indian ride hailing service Ola has tied up with Microsoft to build a new connected vehicle platform and will also use the US tech giant's Azure cloud computing service to power its in-car entertainment offering, it said on Tuesday.

The platform will help with a vehicle's diagnostics, predictive maintenance and navigation, Bengaluru-headquartered Ola said in a statement.

"Both companies will collaborate to take this platform to car manufacturers globally, to integrate with vehicle systems," it said.

The announcement comes at a time when the US firm's chief Satya Nadella is in India

"Today's car is quickly becoming the ultimate computing device and together with Ola, we're focused on providing more intelligent, connected and productive experiences to our customers," said Satya Nadella, CEO, Microsoft. "The combination of Microsoft Azure, Office 365 and our AI platform with Ola Play will deliver new customer experiences and business opportunities across the automotive ecosystem."

Bhavish Aggarwal, Co-Founder and CEO of Ola said, "Globally, the auto industry is experiencing a seismic shift as the definition of automobiles is increasingly changing from gas-powered vehicles to technology-packed, connected devices. With Ola Play, we have already set the tone for connected vehicles in India; together with Microsoft, we can make the new platform available to a larger, global audience and unlock futuristic experiences for customers worldwide."

© Thomson Reuters 2017