Bengaluru, October 17, 2025 – Bhavish Aggarwal, the IIT Bombay alumnus who turned a frustrating cab ride into a mobility empire, has reshaped urban transport through Ola since 2010. With the ride-hailing arm now Ola Consumer serving over 250 cities and Ola Electric’s recent launch of the ‘Ola Shakti’ energy storage system, his ventures highlight India’s push toward sustainable commuting in a market where EV adoption is projected to surge 40% annually amid government incentives.

Early Sparks: A Bad Ride Ignites Ola’s Founding

Bhavish Aggarwal, born on August 28, 1985, in Ludhiana, Punjab, grew up in a family that prized education and curiosity. After earning a computer science degree from the Indian Institute of Technology Bombay in 2008, he interned at Microsoft Research India, filing two patents and publishing three papers before leaving in July 2010 to chase entrepreneurship.

The catalyst for Ola came during a trip from Bengaluru to Bandipur. A driver abandoned Aggarwal midway after haggling over a pre-agreed fare, stranding him on a remote road. “That moment of frustration planted the seed for a reliable ride-hailing service,” Aggarwal later shared in a 2022 Moneycontrol interview. In December 2010, he launched OlaTrips.com as a travel planning site, but by January 2011, he partnered with Ankit Bhati to pivot to Ola Cabs, a cab aggregation platform addressing India’s chaotic taxi ecosystem.

Initially bootstrapped with personal savings, Ola started with phone bookings in Bengaluru before launching its smartphone app in June 2012, capturing significant market share by 2015 through features like fixed fares and driver ratings.

Scaling Rides: From Cabs to Consumer Mobility

Ola’s growth was fueled by aggressive expansion and diversification. By 2018, it operated in Australia, New Zealand, and the UK, but refocused on India amid global challenges. The app now offers autos, bikes, shuttles, and rentals, with over 2.5 million driver-partners and 10,000 employees.

In August 2024, Ola Cabs rebranded to Ola Consumer to encompass broader services, including quick-commerce via Ola Dash (though later shuttered for focus). At its peak, Ola held strong against Uber, but the COVID-19 pandemic slashed revenue by 95% in 2020, prompting layoffs of 5,000 employees. “The crisis accelerated tech innovations,” Aggarwal told Bennet University students in a 2020 webinar, crediting the pivot to contactless rides for recovery to pre-pandemic levels by 2023.

Ola’s model emphasizes hyperlocal solutions, like women-only rides for safety, aligning with its mission to “build mobility for a billion people.”

EV Ambitions: Ola Electric’s Green Shift

Aggarwal’s vision extended to sustainability in 2017, when he established Ola Electric as a subsidiary to electrify Ola’s fleet. A Nagpur pilot deployed 200 EVs with charging stations, but the unit spun off independently in 2019 after Aggarwal acquired 92.5% stake for Rs 1 lakh.

Ola Electric raised $56 million in Series A from Tiger Global and Matrix Partners, followed by investments from Ratan Tata. It became a unicorn in 2021 without shipping a single scooter, backed by SoftBank and Tiger Global. The S1 scooter launched in 2021, capturing 38% of India’s e2W market by selling over 239,000 units since December 2021, per Society of Manufacturers of Electric Vehicles data.

The August 2024 IPO raised Rs 7,250 crore at a $6-7 billion valuation, making Aggarwal, 38, one of the world’s youngest billionaires with a net worth of $2.6 billion after shares surged 16%, according to Bloomberg Billionaires Index. Plans include electric motorcycles in 2025 and the ‘Bharat Cell’ lithium-ion batteries for in-house EVs by early 2025.

Tech and Controversy: Krutrim and Leadership Style

Aggarwal’s portfolio includes Ola Krutrim, India’s first AI unicorn valued at $1 billion in 2024, focusing on large language models. Yet, his aggressive style has drawn scrutiny: reports of toxic environments, including tearing presentations and Punjabi expletives, led to exits like co-founder Bhati in 2020 and executives in 2023-2024. “Feedback is direct and not sugar-coated,” a former employee told Outlook Business in 2024.

Despite this, Aggarwal’s patriotism shines, praising PM Modi’s policies and positioning Ola as “for the rest” against Western rivals.

Ola’s Funding and Growth Milestones

Source: Tracxn and company reports cited in Business Standard and Crunchbase.

Recent Milestone: Ola Shakti’s Energy Leap

On October 16, 2025, Aggarwal unveiled Ola Shakti, Ola Electric’s first non-vehicle product—a multipurpose Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) for homes, farms, and businesses. Using 4680 Bharat Cells, it offers power backup, solar storage, voltage stabilization, and EV charging, capable of running double-storey homes for hours.

“India faces an energy storage opportunity, not a shortage,” Aggarwal said at the launch, targeting the $30 billion market by 2030. Priced accessibly via 4,000+ stores and e-commerce, it supports quick 10-minute deliveries, per Business Standard.

Broader Impact: Reshaping India’s Transport Landscape

Aggarwal’s Ola has created millions of gig jobs, reduced emissions through EV pilots, and influenced policy like bike taxi licenses for Ola, Uber, and Rapido in Mumbai in September 2025. Yet, challenges persist: Ola Electric faced service backlash in 2024, addressed by adding 10,000 partners by 2025.

His story—from stranded traveler to billionaire innovator—matters as India accelerates toward net-zero, where startups like Ola bridge urban chaos and green goals. With Ola Consumer valued at $4.8 billion and EV expansions, Aggarwal eyes global leadership. “Our journey has just begun,” he posted on X in September 2025.

In a nation on wheels, Ola steers toward a sustainable horizon.