In 2021, Sequoia reportedly exited Quick Ride after recovering just 40-50% of its investment. Five years later, MakeMyTrip has bought a majority stake in its carpooling business. Naspers’ reported stake in the original company also fell from 20.81% to 0.10%. With the purchase price undisclosed, the investor story is intriguing. What changed? Perhaps less about Quick Ride than about what MakeMyTrip now wants to become.

The deal is more selective than it looks. MakeMyTrip bought the carpooling operation, leaving the old EV taxi business outside. It wants access to commuters and empty car seats, not vehicles, drivers and depreciation. But there is an awkward twist: redBus, already owned by MakeMyTrip, launched its own carpooling service, rPool, back in 2019. Buying Quick Ride suggests building an app was easier than building a dependable network of drivers and passengers.

Quick Ride claims 4.5 million users and 40 million rides shared. Those are cumulative figures, not proof of an active business today. What matters is how many commuters still find a reliable match every morning. And that is where corporate offices could help. MakeMyTrip already serves businesses through myBiz and Happay. One contract with a large employer could bring thousands of regular commuters without paying to acquire them individually.

Interestingly, Uber reached a related conclusion. It shut its consumer Shuttle service in India in March 2026, but kept pursuing employee transport. Meanwhile, BlaBlaCar, which pulled back its Indian team in 2017, later turned India into its biggest carpooling market. It has attracted millions of passengers, yet monetisation remains difficult. Plenty of people want cheaper rides; fewer want to pay the platform for arranging them.

The sums explain why. One million commuters taking ten ₹80 rides monthly would generate only ₹96 crore a year even at a 10% platform fee, before costs. Regular passengers and drivers can also bypass the app once they know each other. Add uncertain state rules around private cars, safety concerns and unreliable supply, and this stops looking like easy money.

MakeMyTrip isn't fleeing a broken flight-commission business either. Its reported air-ticketing adjusted margin improved to 7% in FY26. It is trying to earn from more journeys, more often. My bet is that Quick Ride makes sense only if it becomes a reliable, employer-backed commuting business. Otherwise, MakeMyTrip may discover what Quick Ride's earlier investors did: popular carpooling doesn't necessarily make a profitable company.

Let’s go through what else is happening in Indian startup world - Grab your simmering cup of StartupChai.in and unwind with our hand-brewed memes.

The Enforcement Directorate searched three Bengaluru premises linked to CoinDCX and Delta Exchange, under FEMA.

The agency alleged that the platforms facilitated unauthorised cross-border transactions involving crypto derivatives and tokenised foreign stocks.

The Chai Take:
The probe is a reminder that crypto platforms can’t treat access to global assets as a regulatory grey zone.

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MobiKwik’s subsidiary has secured RBI approval to operate as an NBFC and plans to start lending within three to six months.

The licence allows MobiKwik to originate credit directly alongside its existing loan-distribution business.

The Chai Take:
Owning an NBFC can improve product control and economics, but it also places credit quality directly on management's scorecard.

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Delhi HC has upheld BharatPe’s veto rights in a dispute over Unity SFB’s proposed capital restructuring.

The court’s order reinforces the shareholder agreement between BharatPe, Centrum and Unity Bank.

The Chai Take:
Shareholder vetoes can protect negotiated rights, but prolonged governance conflict can slow capital decisions at a regulated lender.

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X told the Delhi High Court that takedown requests submitted in the Delhi Police's name against Internet Freedom Foundation and SFLC.in were fake.

One request sought removal of 37 posts and withholding of three accounts.

The Chai Take:
Platforms need authenticated, auditable channels for law-enforcement requests because a forged notice can suppress speech before anyone checks its origin.

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MakeMyTrip has acquired a majority stake in Bengaluru-based Quick Ride to enter the ride-pooling market.

The transaction adds high-frequency urban commuting to MakeMyTrip's ground-transport portfolio.

The Chai Take:
Ride pooling gives MakeMyTrip a daily-use wedge beyond occasional travel, but commute density and repeat behaviour will decide the outcome.

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Cashfree has launched Checkout for Agents, a WebMCP-based feature that lets AI agents read an order total and select a payment mode.

Cashfree says the system can cut token use by more than 40% while leaving final transaction authorisation with the user.

The Chai Take:
The winning agentic-payments layer will combine low-friction execution with unambiguous user consent and liability controls.

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TRAI has proposed a new framework for satellite providers to offer direct-to-device connectivity using satellite and mobile spectrum.

Compatible phones could eventually connect where conventional mobile coverage is unavailable.

The Chai Take:
Direct-to-device connectivity could expand the addressable market for satcom, handset and rural-service startups.

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