InDrive, the ride-hailing platform known for fare negotiation between drivers and passengers, has attracted more than 2,000 paying advertisers each month across 25 markets as it scales beyond its core transportation service, the company told TechCrunch this week. The Mountain View, California-based Uber competitor has spent the past year building out advertising, delivery, groceries, and financial services to capture a larger share of consumer spending across its largely emerging-market user base. The moves mirror a broader industry playbook of layering new revenue streams onto mobility networks to escape the narrow margins of matching riders with drivers.
The advertising business, which inDrive piloted in July 2025 and deployed to its top 20 markets in January, has delivered more than 2 billion impressions since launch, with roughly two-thirds of advertisers returning as repeat customers. The platform now operates what it calls "Ride Media," targeting passengers while they wait for pickup and during trips based on locations they've visited over a defined time window, with plans to introduce real-time targeting. On the financial-services side, loans issued to drivers through inDrive.money in Latin America jumped 118% year-over-year in the first half of 2026, with the short-term credit service now available in Mexico, Colombia, Peru, Brazil, and Indonesia. The company said 13% of its monthly transacting users tapped both mobility and at least one delivery service in 2025, signaling early cross-selling traction across its portfolio of offerings.
Andries Smit, inDrive's chief growth business officer, told TechCrunch the company sees an opening to connect brands with audiences that are tougher to reach through traditional platforms. "We're in very clear emerging markets," Smit said, adding that inDrive's segment is distinct and enables brands to engage a new audience in a different manner. The firm, which operates in more than 1,200 cities spanning 48 countries, is now testing prepared-food delivery with partners, according to a person familiar with the plans, though the effort remains in early stages. Smit declined to share revenue figures for the advertising business or its contribution to overall revenue, and wouldn't say when ads will become a material part of inDrive's business.
The company has installed new leadership to drive the expansion, bringing in Raphael Zennou, a former Delivery Hero executive who previously managed quick-commerce operations serving 21 million monthly customers, as vice president of food and groceries. Former Google executive Max Silin, who spent over 11 years at the search giant in digital media, monetization, and programmatic advertising roles, now leads inDrive.Ads, while Valentin Laykov was promoted to oversee delivery and Alexander Kurchin continues to run inDrive.money. Smit told TechCrurch that advertising, financial services, and delivery need relatively modest funding to scale, while groceries and prepared food will absorb the majority of investment. He pointed to a "nice multiplier effect" as the growth of groceries and food creates additional inventory for advertising, though the timeline will hinge on expanding both the advertiser base and the underlying businesses that generate ad opportunities.
The pace of inDrive's diversification will test whether emerging-market mobility platforms can replicate the multi-service model that has defined developed-market leaders, without the infrastructure and advertiser density those markets provide. Whether a cost-conscious user base will adopt bundled services at the rate needed to justify the investment remains the central strategic question.