Ola, a Tech Juggernaut

When you think of Ola, you might think of a taxi ride.

Ola is a tech juggernaut and one of the leading technology companies that will put India on the map with its future-forward technology investments.

Bhavish had offered an open invitation to visit their factories and learn about the technology they are pioneering. Intrigued and interested, I wanted to take my entire team along. And we did that this week, about 30 of us, everyone at Kalaari Capital .??

We gathered at our office in Whitefield at 6:30 a.m., heading to Pochampalli, Tamil Nadu. This highway is familiar to me thanks to the occasional jaunts I drive to Chennai. If you have done that, you will invariably stop at Murugan Idli, Krishnagiri. It is melt-in-your-mouth South Indian simple fare. After downing my filter coffee, I reached Ola’s FutureFactory around 9:30 a.m.

Jose E Pinheiro , Vice President of Manufacturing at Ola Electric, welcomed us with a big smile and unbridled pride in what they have achieved and what the future holds. Quite efficiently, Chhaya Dabas and her team kept us on pace throughout the day, meticulously managing every detail.

The origin story — they built the FutureFactory, a 600,000 sq ft facility, in 8 months! It's a phenomenal feat. The first scooter prototype was out in 7 months, orange in color. EV scooter sales started rolling in 9 months.

It is easy to see what makes the 'impossible' possible — the people. Every single person we met, and we met many members of the team, showed pride and commitment in what they were doing, and their sense of purpose shone through.

But it was the women who stole my heart. Young women, more than 4,000 of them, run the shop floor. The assembly line is ergonomically designed for females. Ola FutureFactory is producing tens and thousands of scooters a month with an installed capacity of 1 million, expandable to 4 million.

I had a chance to chat with some of these women: Nisha, Aarti, Prita, and Anisha. Anisha shared her experience before she joined Ola, she shared "I was very shy and I was scared of all these machines. But now I am very confident in everything, and the machines - I own them, they do what I want. I was given a free scooter for my work, which meant so much to my family. Many of us girls have helped our families build a home. Just two years ago, child marriages were all too common in our area. But today, not just the girls in Ola, but every girl in the village refuses an early marriage, and even our parents understand the right way."

Sure, we can create new technologies, make a profit, and make happy shareholders. But, these stories of real personal impact are the enduring assets of a business. More of us, more corporates, can do good and create profits.

From battery platform to power train, Ola EV’s choice to create IP in-house is a bold, gutsy move. This has spawned a continuous innovation cycle that has enabled them to lower weight, lower costs, and offer better thermal efficiency. The power train was engineered in-house with an integrated motor and MCU. Likewise, beyond the hardware, moveOS on Android, their own software platform, gives them control over defining the user experience. Lidor enabled Robots zip around the factory for material handling.

This should be enough for most entrepreneurs. But not for Bhavish.

His Gigafactory vision to leap into the future of energy is, well, energizing!

The GigaFactory is still under construction, but parts have already been commissioned and are functioning. Walking through this felt like seeing a Protostar — a star being born. Seeing the intricacies of cell manufacturing at this facility, crucial for Ola’s vision of creating a global EV hub. A massive vision for 100GWH.

Battery packs account for as much as 45% of the total cost of an electric vehicle and are the single most important part of the powertrain, defining both the range and the power of the vehicle. One of the most common chemistries is the Lithium-Ion cell, which powers most electric vehicles today.

The OLA Battery Innovation Centre develops future technologies and creates frontiers for EV advancements.

Our visit concluded at the OLA HQ with a free-flowing AMA session with Bhavish Aggarwal. Bhavish’s insights, vision, and ambition to create technologies to scale solutions in mobility, energy transition, and AI were refreshing and comforting.

It is comforting to see entrepreneurs and leaders who aspire for India to be a technology hub and are unafraid to make bold bets on the future.

The day passed, 6 a.m. - 9 p.m., but everyone in the Kalaari team was energized by the day well spent. We left a different person, deeply inspired and committed to doing more to impact the startup ecosystem. We were reinforced by our belief in the tremendous potential of innovation.

Not only were our minds well fed, but our bodies were nurtured, too. At Kalaari, we take great pride in our hospitality. But the Ola team took this to another level.

The Basil lemonade quenching my thirst was my favorite, not to mention mango-baked yogurt.

Bhavish's evolution as CEO and leader, his personal journey as a futuristic technologist, a humanist who thinks of using his power to improve others’ lives, and his commitment to creating impact and value beyond amassing personal wealth left me with profound reflections.

Engineering solutions personify Ola's ambition. Beyond just the product, I saw the beginning of foundational research in material sciences and indigenous capabilities to manufacture at scale.

This is the aspiration of the Indian Techade—where core research will be backed by awe-inspiring engineering capabilities to create, build, and deliver best-in-class products from India to the world.??

If I were a tad younger, I would pitch Bhavish on hiring me to help create the future.

Thank you, Bhavish and Ola team, for hosting us, for your warm welcome, and for generously sharing your vision with us.

Bhavish Aggarwal Jose E Pinheiro Kalaari Capital Ola Electric

#EV #Innovation #Technology #startups #Ola