Bhavish Aggarwal

From a Microsoft researcher and a bad cab ride to the co-founder of Ola, and later the founder of Ola Electric and Krutrim.

Born: 28 August 1985, Ludhiana, Punjab, India
Known for: Co-founding Ola; founding Ola Electric and Krutrim
Industry: Mobility, electric vehicles, AI
Education: B.Tech, IIT Bombay (2008)

Early life and Microsoft

Bhavish Aggarwal was born and raised in Ludhiana, Punjab, and graduated from IIT Bombay in 2008 with a B.Tech. He began his career at Microsoft Research India as an intern and later as an assistant researcher. During about two years there he filed two patents and co-authored three papers in international journals.

A bad cab ride and Olatrip.com

Before Ola, Bhavish ran an online business selling short holidays and weekend trips, Olatrip.com. On a trip from Bengaluru to Bandipur he hired a car, and the driver stopped midway, demanded to renegotiate the price, and abandoned him when he refused. Seeing that many travellers likely faced the same problem, he shifted the business toward cab booking. He brought in Ankit Bhati, a fellow IIT Bombay alumnus, as co-founder, and Ola launched in December 2010. The name comes from the Spanish "hola".

Early struggles and funding

His parents were initially unhappy that he was becoming a "travel agent", and became supportive after Ola raised its first angel money from investors including Snapdeal's Kunal Bahl, Anupam Mittal and Rehan Yar Khan. In the early days the founders worked long hours, and Ankit sometimes coded for 48 hours straight. When drivers didn't show up, they reportedly drove customers themselves. Because many cities then relied on 2G networks, the team had to build an app that worked on weak connections.

Scaling Ola

Ola grew quickly with backing from investors such as Tiger Global, SoftBank, Tencent and DST Global. In 2015 it acquired rival TaxiForSure, and it later expanded to Australia, New Zealand and the UK. Ola's own website describes it as India's largest mobility platform, with 250+ cities and 1.5 million driver-partners. It also experimented with food delivery, used cars and quick commerce, shutting several of these businesses in 2022 to refocus on mobility and electric vehicles.

Ola Electric and Krutrim

Ola Electric, set up as a separate company, became a unicorn in 2019 with a $250 million investment from SoftBank. Its scooters went on sale in September 2021, and it listed on the stock exchange in 2024. In April 2022 Bhavish stepped back from day-to-day operations of Ola's core cab business to focus on electric vehicles and new ventures, and in August 2024 Ola Cabs was rebranded as Ola Consumer. He also founded Krutrim, an AI company that became India's first AI unicorn in January 2024 at an estimated $1 billion valuation.

Pandemic and restructuring

Covid-19 hit ride-hailing hard. In May 2020 Ola announced layoffs of around 1,400 employees as revenue fell sharply, and Bhavish explained the decision in a letter to staff. He later said the pandemic would accelerate innovation in mobility and shift people toward rentals and subscription-based car ownership.

Criticism and controversies

Aggarwal's leadership has drawn criticism. In 2022, reports described a demanding and sometimes harsh work culture at Ola and a string of senior departures; he defended his style, saying the journey was not an easy one. In 2024 he publicly backed a 70-hour work week and questioned work-life balance, and his May 2024 post calling gender pronouns a "western illness" drew an online backlash. In October 2025, Bengaluru police registered a case against him and several Ola Electric executives after an employee's death by suicide in September 2025, which the employee's note linked to workplace harassment and unpaid dues. The company has denied the allegations and challenged the case in the Karnataka High Court, and later reports citing sources said investigators had found the note authentic. Check current coverage for the latest status.

Timeline

1985Born in Ludhiana, Punjab.
2008Graduates from IIT Bombay and joins Microsoft Research India.
Dec 2010Launches Ola with Ankit Bhati after pivoting from Olatrip.com.
2015Ola acquires rival TaxiForSure.
2019Ola Electric becomes a unicorn with $250M from SoftBank.
2020Ola lays off around 1,400 staff during the pandemic.
Apr 2022Steps back from day-to-day operations of Ola's cab business.
Jan 2024Krutrim becomes India's first AI unicorn.
Aug 2024Ola Cabs is rebranded Ola Consumer; Ola Electric is listed on the stock exchange.

Recognition

TIME 100 Most Influential People (2018)

The takeaway: when most people call an idea bad, ask whether they've felt the problem. Bhavish built Ola from a personal pain point, but his story also shows how a founder's leadership style and willingness to reinvent can be both a strength and a point of criticism.

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Sources

Written from public information, including Wikipedia, Ola's About page and StartupTalky. Figures such as the number of cities and driver-partners are company claims; funding and acquisition values are as reported. Further reading: Facebook.