Bhavish Aggarwal: The Visionary Behind Ola and One of India’s Youngest Billionaires

Bhavish Aggarwal: We all live in a fast-paced world where nobody has time to stop; everyone is chasing their needs. Along with this, services have evolved too. Now, with a single touch on our smartphones, everything is available—food, clothes, and more—right at our fingertips. But what about getting a rental cab or a cab with a driver within minutes? That idea was made a reality 14 years ago by Bhavish Aggarwal and his co-founder through their dream project, OLA.

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Ola is India’s first cab aggregator company, simplifying life for millions. Founded in 2010, it pioneered the cab-hailing industry and has since grown into a well-established company. Ola’s headquarters is in Bengaluru, Karnataka, and it operates under the parent company ANI Technologies Pvt. Ltd. With over 2.5 million drivers across India and users in over 250 cities, Ola has revolutionized the way people travel.

Bhavish Aggarwal’s Early Life

Bhavish Aggarwal was born into a Punjabi family in Ludhiana. From a young age, he was fond of studies and led a well-disciplined life. His father, Naresh Aggarwal, is an orthopedic surgeon, and his mother, Usha Aggarwal, is a pathologist. Bhavish has one brother, Ankush, who is also an entrepreneur.

Bhavish completed his schooling in Ludhiana and later attended IIT Bombay, where he earned his bachelor’s degree in engineering, graduating in 2007. He is also passionate about photography.

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From Employee to Entrepreneur

Bhavish’s journey from being an employee to one of the most successful young entrepreneurs is both inspiring and remarkable. After graduating from IIT Bombay in 2007, he began an internship at Microsoft Research India, where he gained foundational professional skills. During his time at Microsoft, Bhavish filed two patents and published three papers in international journals. However, in July 2010, he left Microsoft to pursue entrepreneurship.

During his research at Microsoft, he learned how technology could transform the lives of everyday people. A life-changing experience during his travels across India led to the founding of OLA, the first cab-hailing app in India.

The Story Behind OLA

There is an inspiring story behind Ola’s success. Bhavish founded Ola on December 3, 2010. After resigning from Microsoft, he was eager to start a business. Initially, he launched a website called Olatrip.com, which offered various holiday and weekend trip packages.

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Bhavish used to travel extensively to curate these packages, often relying on rented cabs. During one such journey, he had a bad experience where the driver stopped midway and re-negotiated the price. When Bhavish refused, the driver forced him to get out of the cab. This incident made Bhavish realize the difficulties faced by many who rely on rented cabs. Thus, the idea of Ola as a cab-hailing app was born.

Ola operates on a simple business model. It acts as a facilitator, providing cab-booking services. Customers can book cabs through the app, but Ola does not own any vehicles.

Net Worth Built on Hard Work

Bhavish Aggarwal is one of the youngest billionaires in India. As of 2024, his net worth is estimated at $2.3 billion. A significant rise in his wealth came after the strong debut of Ola Electric on D-Street.

He has also made several investments in various companies. Bhavish is a major investor in his brother’s firm, Avail Finance. Additionally, he has invested in the tea chain Chaayos and the news platform YourStory.

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In 2024, Bhavish founded OlaKrutrim, an artificial intelligence (AI) company, which became India’s first AI unicorn. Through Krutrim, Bhavish aims to build large language models, data centers, servers, and supercomputers to support the AI ecosystem. This company also holds a major portion of his net worth.

A True Inspiration

Bhavish Aggarwal is not only one of the youngest but also one of the most successful entrepreneurs in India. His story is a testament to hard work, and he serves as an inspiration for aspiring entrepreneurs worldwide.