05/02/2026
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Bhavish Aggarwal Wants to Raise $300 Million for His Secret AI Weapon — Is This India’s OpenAI Moment?

  • April 21, 2025
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After Ola and EVs, Aggarwal Is Now Going All-In on Artificial Intelligence. Here’s What We Know. Bhavish Aggarwal, the man who transformed how India moves with Ola and

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Bhavish Aggarwal Wants to Raise $300 Million for His Secret AI Weapon — Is This India’s OpenAI Moment?

After Ola and EVs, Aggarwal Is Now Going All-In on Artificial Intelligence. Here’s What We Know.

Bhavish Aggarwal, the man who transformed how India moves with Ola and then took on Tesla with Ola Electric, is now setting his sights on the next trillion-dollar industry — Artificial Intelligence.

And he’s not thinking small.

Reports reveal that Aggarwal is now in talks to raise $300 million (₹2,561 crore) for his AI venture Krutrim — a company he believes could be India’s answer to OpenAI.

If you thought the Ola story was big, this could be even bigger.


What Is Krutrim and Why Is It Suddenly Everywhere?

While most Indian startups are still figuring out SaaS or e-commerce, Aggarwal is already working on building AI that understands India — not just in English, but in local languages, dialects, and cultural context.

Krutrim (which means “artificial” in Sanskrit) is India’s first full-stack AI company, aiming to build everything from:

  • Large language models (LLMs)
  • AI tools and assistants
  • Data infrastructure
  • Even AI chips and servers

Yes — Aggarwal is going all the way down to the hardware.

The mission? To make India a global powerhouse in AI tech. Not just a user of foreign platforms like ChatGPT — but a creator of homegrown, culturally aware AI systems.


$300 Million… But Why Not $500 Million?

Here’s the twist.

Aggarwal originally wanted to raise $500 million for Krutrim. But according to reports, investor appetite has cooled, and he’s now trimming the raise down to $300 million — a mix of equity and debt.

The reasons?

  • Global investors are cautious
  • AI is still early-stage in India
  • And frankly, Krutrim is still proving itself

But that hasn’t slowed Bhavish down. In fact, he’s reportedly confident of landing multiple big-ticket investors soon.


The Big Names Circling Krutrim

Sources suggest that Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan, and SBI Capital Markets are all in discussions to potentially back this round.

If these names come on board, it won’t just bring money — it will bring global credibility to Krutrim’s mission.

It could also signal to Indian and global VCs that Krutrim isn’t just a moonshot — it’s a real contender in the global AI space.


Why Everyone Should Be Paying Attention

This isn’t just about Bhavish Aggarwal raising more money. It’s about something bigger.

1. India’s First Homegrown AI Challenger

While the world is focused on OpenAI, Anthropic, and Google Gemini, Krutrim could be India’s shot at building its own AI stack — built for Indian users, languages, and problems.

2. Bhavish Is Betting on the Long Game

He didn’t build Ola overnight. He didn’t launch Ola Electric in a year. Bhavish plays to win, and he’s willing to go through the grind to make Krutrim a tech cornerstone.

3. This Isn’t Just a Startup — It’s a Movement

India imports AI tools. Krutrim wants to change that narrative.

If Krutrim succeeds, it could spark a wave of Indian AI startups, build local data centers, create deep tech jobs, and make India an exporter — not just a consumer — of AI technology.


What’s Next for Krutrim?

The funding isn’t final yet — but talks are reportedly progressing.

Meanwhile, Krutrim has already started building its AI infrastructure, launched an early chatbot product, and is hiring aggressively across engineering, research, and cloud infrastructure.

The goal is clear: control the full AI stack from chips to code — a bold and rare move in India’s startup ecosystem.


Can Bhavish Aggarwal Pull It Off Again?

He’s done it twice. First with Ola, then Ola Electric — both built from scratch in industries dominated by giants.

Now, he’s stepping into a global race dominated by the likes of OpenAI (Microsoft), DeepMind (Google), and Anthropic (Amazon-backed).

Is Krutrim too ambitious? Maybe.
Is Bhavish the only one bold enough to try? Absolutely.

And that’s why this fundraise — even if it’s “just” $300 million — matters.


Final Thoughts: India’s Big AI Bet Is Here

Bhavish Aggarwal isn’t just building a startup.
He’s trying to build the AI brain for a billion Indians.

While the world waits to see who leads the AI future, India might just have a wildcard—and his name is Bhavish.

This could be the beginning of India’s AI revolution.

So, if you haven’t been paying attention to Krutrim yet…
Now’s the time.



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