Ola Electric Promoter Pledges Shares to Fuel Bhavish Aggarwal’s AI Startup Krutrim
In a significant development that highlights the growing convergence of India’s electric mobility and artificial intelligence sectors, Ola Electric Mobility Limited has disclosed that its promoter has pledged 10.71 crore shares—equivalent to 2.43% of the company’s equity capital—to raise funds for Krutrim Data Centre Private Limited, the artificial intelligence startup founded by Bhavish Aggarwal.
According to the company’s regulatory filing, the pledged shares represent 8.09% of the promoter’s total holding in Ola Electric. The arrangement has been structured in favour of Axis Trustee Services, acting on behalf of a consortium of lenders including Avendus Structured Credit Fund II, Avendus Finance, InCred Credit Opportunities Fund I and II, and India Credit Opportunities Fund II. This encumbrance is a replacement for an earlier non-disposal undertaking (NDU) on the same shares that were previously filed with exchanges in December 2024 and again in March 2025, Ola Electric stated. Ola Electric explained, the NDU will only be removed once the pledge has fully settled, however, in the interim, it is possible for both records to show up on stock exchange reports, as it will take time for the systems to record the new entry.
The move was made possible by the recent expiry of the lock-in period on certain promoter shares under SEBI’s Issue of Capital and Disclosure Requirements (ICDR) regulations. This regulatory window gave Aggarwal the flexibility to leverage Ola Electric’s equity to support the financial needs of his AI venture.
Krutrim: India’s Bold Bet on AI Infrastructure
Krutrim, launched in late 2023, is Bhavish Aggarwal’s ambitious foray into artificial intelligence. Positioned as India’s answer to global AI giants, the startup is focused on building AI infrastructure, cloud services, and large language models (LLMs) tailored for Indian users and businesses. Its vision is to establish a homegrown AI ecosystem that reduces reliance on global players while fostering innovation within India’s rapidly growing digital economy.
The company had a meteoric start, achieving unicorn status in January 2024 after raising $50 million in funding at a valuation exceeding $1 billion. However, the journey since then has been anything but smooth. Despite initial investor enthusiasm, reports suggested that Krutrim had been in talks to raise as much as $300 million in fresh capital—discussions the startup officially denied.
Difficulty Ahead
Krutrim has been facing profound financial and operational challenges in 2025. The company has laid off over 200 employees in 2025, including 50 linguistics specialists just last week. The restructuring is part of Krutrim’s effort to reduce costs while sharpening its concentration on developing its cloud and advanced AI models.
At the center of its strategic plan is Krutrim Cloud, its platform for businesses and developers to leverage scalable computing resources. The startup is also developing its most ambitious product to date – Krutrim 3, a multibillion-parameter large-language model that rivals its global competitors. Unfortunately, there has been limited product traction; therefore, it remains to be seen how soon Krutrim can turn its vision into actualized revenue.
Why This is Important for India’s Startup Community
The two businesses of Bhavish Aggarwal—Ola Electric and Krutrim—represent two of the most transformative trends influencing India’s startup community: sustainable mobility and artificial intelligence (AI). Ola Electric is the leader in India’s electric vehicle (EV) revolution, while Krutrim wants to propel the nation to lead in AI. By committing to donate a percentage of shares for Ola Electric to support Krutrim, Aggarwal is leveraging the strength of one high-growth industry to support the ambitions of another.
Aggarwal’s donation symbolizes the opportunities and risks in India’s startup ecosystem—founders are willing to make bold bets and pursue cross-sectoral synergies, but also highlight how even unicorns have to deal with financial pressures to support their continued growth, particularly in capital intensive domains such as AI infrastructure.
Anticipating the Future
The next few months will be a critical time for Krutrim. The success or otherwise of Krutrim Cloud and the launch of Krutrim 3 will determine whether the startup can establish a credible presence in the fierce AI space. For both investors and industry observers, Aggarwal’s latest move is a reassertion that the Indian startup story is still being told – often characterized by ambition, strategic risk-taking, and resilience in managing adversity.
The lines are increasingly blurred between mobility, technology, and artificial intelligence. As such, Krutrim’s evolution will be of considerable interest not just as a company, but also becomes a case study in India’s ambition to invest in the next wave of global technology innovation.
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