Bhavish Aggarwal pledges 5.88 crore more Ola Electric shares for his AI startup Krutrim

Bhavish Aggarwal, founder of Ola Electric and the artificial intelligence startup Krutrim, has pledged an additional 5.88 crore shares of Ola Electric to secure funding for his AI startup.

This new pledge brings his total encumbered shares to approximately 2.43% of Ola Electric’s total shares, representing about 8.09% of his personal stake in the electric vehicle company.

The pledged shares, valued at about Rs 603 crore at the current share price of around Rs 56.40, have been placed under a non-disposal undertaking, which means Aggarwal retains ownership but is barred from selling or transferring them.

Final phase of funding for Krutrim

Aggarwal’s latest move follows an earlier pledge of 4.83 crore shares in December 2024. According to regulatory filings, this is the second and final pledge to fund Krutrim. The startup, whose name means “artificial” in Sanskrit, aims to build a complete AI computing stack.

In February, Aggarwal announced a Rs 2,000 crore investment in the venture and committed to investing Rs 10,000 crore by next year. In January last year, Krutrim was valued at $1 billion after raising $50 million in funding led by Matrix Partners India.

The startup has also launched an Android app for its AI chatbot, designed to compete with offerings such as OpenAI’s ChatGPT, Google’s Gemini, and Microsoft’s Copilot.

Details of the share pledge

The shares have been pledged in favor of Axis Trustee Services Limited, acting on behalf of Avendus Structured Credit Fund II, Avendus Finance, and InCred Credit Opportunities Funds I & II. Krutrim issued debentures on Feb 21 and Feb 24 to secure debt financing from these entities, with Aggarwal’s pledged shares serving as collateral.

Aggarwal owns slightly more than 30% of Ola Electric and has been steadily increasing his investments in Krutrim.