Highlights
Ola Electric’s promoter has committed 10.71 crore shares, representing 2.43% of the company’s equity capital, to generate funds for Krutrim Data Centre, based on a stock exchange announcement. The pledged shares make up 8.09% of the promoter’s total shareholding in the electric vehicle firm.
Details of the Pledge
This pledge has been established in favour of Axis Trustee Services, acting on behalf of Avendus, InCred, and India Credit Opportunities funds. It substitutes an earlier non-disposal undertaking disclosed in December 2024 and March 2025. Ola indicated that the non-disposal undertaking concerning these shares will be revoked upon the completion of the pledge process.
Background on Krutrim
The news comes a few months after the end of the lock-in period for part of the promoter shares as per SEBI’s listing regulations. Krutrim successfully secured about $75 million and entered the unicorn club in January 2024. Its backers include Z47 (previously known as Matrix) along with the Sarin Family and others.
Funding Developments
There have been reports suggesting that Krutrim was negotiating to raise $300 million in a new funding round; however, the company officially refuted these claims.
Staff Changes
In a recent move, Krutrim downsized its linguistics team, resulting in about 50 layoffs. This marks the third round of job reductions since June, with over 200 employees having left the company this year, including key leadership figures.
Technological Advancements
Krutrim’s AI offerings, such as Krutrim Cloud and its series of large language models, are still facing challenges in achieving market acceptance due to certain technological limitations. Meanwhile, the company is developing its most ambitious language model yet, known as Krutrim 3, which is expected to feature multi-billion parameters.