Hyderabad: Uber Technologies Inc, the global leader in the hail taxi space, on Wednesday inaugurated its first Centre of Excellence in Hyderabad — the first in Asia and fifth across the world.
“The centre is designed to further improve product and operations, with a core focus to provide specialised support for critical incidents that require immediate attention. The center will provide support via multiple channels — email, phone and social media to ensure seamless experience before, during and after the ride,” Uber India president Amit Jain said after inaugurating the centre.
In 2015, Uber had signed a deal the government of Telangana to invest $50 million. Uber’s decision to set up its first centre in India over its rival China highlights the importance that it attaches to the Indian market. In China, Uber faces a strong competition from local player Didi Kuaidi.
The Chinese rival has also spearheaded efforts to form a global alliance against Uber by investing in US hail taxi firm’s rivals in different countries such as Lyft in the US, Ola in India and GrabTaxi in Southeast Asia. Other Uber centres are in the United States, Ireland, Costa Rica and Poland.
Telangana IT secretary Jayesh Ranjan said that Uber’s “new project confirms Telangana as the location of choice for leading innovative companies. Uber will generate over 500 jobs by 2017 which will have a positive impact on the state.”
On Tuesday, Hyderabad was adjudged the best city to live in India by global survey conducted by US-based consulting firm Mercer. Hyderabad — which is considered a smaller rival to Bengaluru in IT — has seen a steady stream of investors for setting up their offices, especially lured by its affordable real estate and talent pool.
