In the high-stakes arena of India’s deep-tech revolution, Ola’s AI subsidiary Krutrim is facing a seismic jolt. Since September 2025, nearly half a dozen senior executives from its fledgling chip design team have walked out, casting serious doubts over the $1 billion-valued startup’s bold plan to launch indigenous AI hardware by 2026. This exodus is not an isolated incident; it’s a glaring symptom of a nationwide talent war that has left India short of 1.5 million deep-tech professionals, threatening the country’s semiconductor ambitions and the broader $108 billion chip market it aims to capture by 2030.
Krutrim, launched by Ola CEO Bhavish Aggarwal in 2023 as India’s answer to OpenAI and Nvidia, was meant to deliver a complete sovereign AI stack: large language models, a cloud platform, and custom AI chips under the Bodhi brand. The acquisition of Bodhi Computing in 2023 was supposed to be the crown jewel, bringing in specialized talent to design power-efficient chips optimized for edge AI in mobility and consumer devices. Aggarwal pledged over ₹12,000 crore from his Ola Electric stake to bankroll this vision.
But the cracks are widening fast. Key departures include senior directors and founding members of the original Bodhi team, people who were building the Bodhi 1 prototype slated for tape-out in 2026. The chip unit, once 40–50 strong, has been reduced to a skeleton crew. This isn’t just a few resignations; 2025 has seen over 20 leadership exits across Krutrim and multiple layoffs totaling more than 200 employees, including deep cuts to linguistics and engineering teams. Reports of burnout, aggressive timelines, and a high-pressure culture have only amplified the talent flight.
The fallout is brutal for Krutrim’s hardware roadmap. With the core design bench gutted, insiders fear significant delays or even a complete pivot away from in-house silicon. Fundraising has also hit turbulence; the company reportedly slashed its Series B target from $500 million to $300 million amid lukewarm investor interest, leaning heavily on Aggarwal’s personal pledges instead.
Zoom out, and Krutrim’s pain reflects a national crisis. India’s semiconductor and AI sectors desperately need a million-plus skilled engineers by 2030, yet the education system churns out graduates with little hands-on experience in VLSI design, ML ops, or advanced chip architecture. Global giants like Nvidia, Qualcomm, and Google are poaching top talent straight from IITs, while domestic startups struggle to match compensation or culture. Salaries for senior AI and chip engineers have skyrocketed 18–20% in the past year, yet the supply simply isn’t there.
For Krutrim, survival now hinges on rapid rebuilding: aggressive diaspora hiring, potential acquisitions, or shifting focus to its still-intact cloud business and partnerships with global foundries. For India, the stakes are even higher. If homegrown champions can’t retain talent, the dream of sovereign AI hardware and a $500 billion deep-tech contribution to GDP risks slipping away.
Aggarwal has publicly vowed to keep building despite the headwinds. But in a war decided by people, not just capital or vision, Krutrim’s ongoing exodus is a wake-up call: India’s deep-tech future won’t be built on ambition alone; it needs the engineers to stay.
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Last Updated on: Tuesday, December 2, 2025 7:32 pm by Business Byte Team | Published by: Business Byte Team on Tuesday, December 2, 2025 7:32 pm | News Categories: Startups
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