For three years, Bengaluru-based Namma Yatri operated as proof of concept — that you could build a ride-hailing platform in India without taking a single rupee from drivers, and still survive long enough to matter. The question was always whether that idea could travel. On March 26, 2026, its parent company, Moving Tech Innovations, quietly answered it by acquiring Automicle Holding BV, a Netherlands-based mobility startup that works with city authorities across Europe on digital parking and integrated public transport systems.
The deal marks MTI’s first international acquisition and its formal entry into a market where the biggest ride-hailing platforms — Uber, Bolt, and BlaBlaCar — have for years charged drivers anywhere between 10% and 50% of their earnings, depending on the country and the city. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
MTI’s co-founders Magizhan Selvan and Shan MS framed the move in terms they’ve used before — people first, cities first — but this time with a self-assurance that comes from numbers.
“When we built Namma Yatri, we put cities and their people first. We proved that zero-commission models work, that drivers deserve dignity and better earnings, and that public transport can be seamlessly integrated. With Automicle, we are taking those learnings beyond India. These are not local solutions; they are universal principles. Cities everywhere are seeking a mobility model that is open and community-led.” said Magizhan Selvan and Shan MS, Co-Founders, Moving Tech Innovations
What Automicle Brings to the Table
Automicle was founded in 2022 by Amit Pal, Mohit Mishra, and Jef Heyse. The company builds interoperable, standards-based mobility infrastructure — smart parking systems, integrated public transport platforms — and has spent its short life working closely with city governments across Europe on transit problems that most private platforms don’t bother solving.
That institutional foothold is likely more valuable to MTI than anything on Automicle’s balance sheet. Breaking into a European city’s mobility ecosystem isn’t a product problem. It’s a trust and compliance problem. Automicle gives MTI a pre-existing relationship network, a local governance track record, and the credibility to walk into city halls and not start from scratch.
Automicle’s co-founders were explicit about what they see in the deal going the other way too.
“This is a pivotal moment for Automicle. We have worked with European cities for a long time to modernise mobility — from digital parking to integrated public transport. What MTI has built at scale proves that city-first models work. Together, we can help European cities move faster toward open mobility that truly serves people, while bringing European expertise in parking and integrated urban mobility to Indian cities as well. This is mutual growth.” said Jef Heyse and Mohit Mishra, Co-Founders, Automicle
The Commission Problem in Europe
The structural gap MTI is betting on is real. European ride-hailing has long been a platform-extractive model. Drivers across the UK, Germany, France, and the Netherlands carry most of the operational risk — vehicle costs, fuel, maintenance, insurance — while platforms collect a commission on every single fare. Uber’s commissions in Europe reportedly range from 20% to 35%. Bolt, widely considered the driver-friendlier alternative, still takes a cut. The math is punishing for anyone trying to make a living behind the wheel.
Namma Yatri operates differently. Drivers on the platform don’t pay a commission — they pay a flat daily subscription fee of ₹25 for autos and ₹45 for cabs. Every rupee from each fare goes to the driver. The platform’s revenue comes from subscriptions, not extraction. Whether that model holds at European fare levels and driver cost structures will be the central test of this expansion.
What Happened in India Is Not a Small Story
Namma Yatri launched in Bengaluru in 2022 — a joint effort by Juspay, the Beckn Foundation, and the Auto Rickshaw Drivers’ Union (ARDU). It ran on open digital protocols, published its data metrics openly, and built on the ONDC Network. In late 2023, Juspay hived off the mobility business — Namma Yatri, Yatri Sathi, Bharat Taxi, and Chennai One — into a separate entity: Moving Tech Innovations.
The impact on India’s ride-hailing market was disproportionate for a startup of its size. The platform crossed 150 million trips, enabled over ₹2,500 crore in driver earnings without taking a commission, and forced competitors to respond structurally. Rapido pivoted from a commission model to subscriptions. Ola dropped commissions entirely for auto drivers. These weren’t small product tweaks — they were market-level shifts driven by a single entrant with a fundamentally different model.
MTI raised $11 million in a pre-Series A in July 2024 from Blume Ventures, Antler, and Google, which valued the company at roughly ₹500 crore ($55 million). Earlier this year, it added another ₹39.75 crore (~$4.4 million) in an extension round led by Juspay founder Vimal Kumar, with participation from Blume, Antler, and others. On those numbers alone, it is a modest startup. On market impact, the math is harder to ignore.
The Europe Question
None of what worked in Bengaluru automatically translates. India’s ride-hailing drivers operate in an ecosystem shaped by low-income baselines, dense urban populations, and a regulatory environment that has, at various points, been sympathetic to gig worker concerns. European cities come with different union structures, labour protections, local licensing frameworks, and consumer habits around digital payments and trust.
There is also the competitive reality. Uber has significant European infrastructure, regulatory relationships, brand recall, and deep pockets. The company pumped ₹3,000 crore from its parent entity into its India operations amid competitive pressure. It will not watch a new entrant take its European market share without a response.
MTI’s bet is that city governments in Europe are looking for alternatives. Rising gig worker discontent, pending EU platform worker regulations, and growing public pressure around commission structures mean there is a political opening — not just a product one. Automicle’s relationships with city authorities are built precisely in that space.
The companies also noted that India-EU Free Trade Agreement discussions are gaining momentum, adding a geopolitical tailwind to what is otherwise a very operational challenge.
A Two-Way Street
One aspect of the deal that hasn’t received much attention: both companies framed this as a knowledge exchange, not a one-way export. Automicle’s expertise in digital parking systems and integrated public transport platforms is supposed to flow back into Indian cities. MTI’s platforms currently operate in Bengaluru, Delhi-NCR, Chennai, Kochi, Mysuru, Tumakuru, and Kolkata — cities with their own parking and transit integration challenges.
Whether that two-way framing survives the realities of international scaling remains to be seen. For now, what’s clear is that an Indian startup built on open-source protocols, driver dignity, and a refusal to charge commissions has decided the streets of Amsterdam are worth trying.
