Pledge, Sell, Pledge Again: Bhavish Agarwal & Ola Electric’s Dilemma

What happened

For close to two years, Bhavish Aggarwal has been stuck between a rock and a hard place. All to keep Ola Electric and his other ventures going without giving up control of the company he built.

Between November 2024 and March 2025, Aggarwal pledged Ola Electric shares to raise debt for Krutrim Data Centre , the AI infrastructure and services company that he founded in 2023. Then in December 2025, he sold part of his stake in Ola Electric to repay the ₹260 Cr loan that covered the pledge and release the encumbered shares, selling 3.93% of his holding in the company.

At the time, Ola Electric said repaying the loan meant the company should operate with zero pledge overhang. But ten months later, another pledge is here.