inDrive expands beyond ride-hailing into ads, delivery, loans

Known for letting riders and drivers negotiate fares, Uber rival inDrive spent the past year adding businesses such as advertising and groceries to its core ride-hailing service. The company is now scaling those bets, installing new leaders as its ads, delivery, and financial-services units show early signs of traction across its largely emerging-market user base.

Piloted in July 2025 and rolled out to inDrive’s top 20 markets in January, the advertising business has since expanded to 25 markets, serving more than 2 billion impressions and attracting over 2,000 paying advertisers a month — about two-thirds of them repeat customers, the company told TechCrunch. “We’re in very clear emerging markets. Our segment is very different, and we can really help brands connect with a new audience in a different way,” said Andries Smit, inDrive’s chief growth business officer. The company, which operates in more than 1,200 cities across 48 countries, is pushing “Ride Media,” designed to capture rider attention while they wait for a driver and during a trip, and plans to add real-time targeting.

There are early signs inDrive is getting users to venture beyond rides: 13% of its monthly transacting users used both mobility and at least one delivery service in 2025. Loans taken out by drivers through inDrive.money in Latin America jumped 118% year-over-year in the first half of 2026; the short-term credit service is available in Mexico, Colombia, Peru, Brazil, and Indonesia. Smit declined to disclose how much capital inDrive has earmarked for the newer businesses overall, though he said advertising, financial services, and delivery require relatively little funding to scale, while groceries and food will take the bulk of investment — including prepared-food delivery tests now underway with partners.

The buildout comes with new leadership: Raphael Zennou, a former Delivery Hero executive who oversaw quick-commerce operations serving 21 million monthly customers, joins as vice president of food and groceries; Max Silin, who spent more than 11 years at Google in digital media and programmatic advertising, will lead inDrive.Ads; Valentin Laykov was promoted to oversee delivery; and Alexander Kurchin continues to lead inDrive.money.

Why it matters

inDrive is betting its reach across emerging markets — a customer base many advertisers struggle to reach through other platforms — can fund a broader consumer business the way Uber has layered delivery and ads onto its own mobility network.