Ola is making a significant push into AI by developing Krutrim 3, a 700-billion parameter AI model, in partnership with Lenovo, the company announced at Lenovo Tech World’25 India Edition in Mumbai.
The initiative includes building India’s largest supercomputer to support Ola’s AI ecosystem and advance sovereign cloud and hyperscale infrastructure.
“We are very proud to say that we are working on a bigger model, Krutrim 3, which will be a 700 billion parameter model, and will be our answer from India to show that we can build the best,” said Navendu Agarwal, CIO of Ola Electric, in a conversation with Mathew Zielinski, President, International Markets, Lenovo. “We are very proud to partner with Lenovo in this endeavour.”
Ola’s AI ambitions stem from its success in electric vehicles and mobility, with the company now viewing AI as a critical pillar of India’s digital future. The company has over 700 AI professionals working on a full-stack approach, positioning itself as one of the few Indian firms to build foundation models from scratch.
The company began its AI journey in late 2023 with Krutrim 1, a 7-billion parameter model, followed by Krutrim 2, a 12-billion parameter model, both of which were open-sourced. With Krutrim 3, Ola aims to compete on a global scale.
A key component of Ola’s AI strategy is robust infrastructure, which is driving its collaboration with Lenovo. “We are building the infrastructure, and we will again speak more about it,” Agarwal said, adding that Ola’s foundation model layer will support a wide range of AI applications, including vision models, language models, and indigenous LLMs.
He pointed out that AI adoption in India remains in its early stages, with only 0.1% of the country’s GDP directed toward the software industry, compared to 1% in the U.S. “That is inhibiting us from achieving the vision of a $21 trillion economy,” he noted.
Sovereign Cloud and AI-First Infrastructure
Beyond AI model development, Ola is working toward establishing India’s own sovereign cloud and hyperscale AI infrastructure, reducing dependency on Western cloud providers. “India doesn’t have its own hyperscale. Everything is Western. We don’t have our own sovereign cloud, and that’s where Ola is working,” Agarwal said.
The supercomputer, developed with Lenovo, will power Ola’s AI-first cloud, serving not only Ola’s AI ecosystem but also startups and enterprises looking to build AI-powered applications.
“We will make it state-of-the-art. We will make it green. We will make it liquid cooling-based,” Agarwal emphasised, highlighting the focus on cost-effective, sustainable technology.
Agarwal stressed that achieving India’s AI potential requires strong collaboration. “This is a dream that not one company can achieve alone. Ola is doing its bit, stretching ourselves, and building the infrastructure, but we need strong partners like Lenovo,” he said.
With Krutrim 3, Ola is making a bold move in AI innovation, positioning itself at the forefront of India’s AI revolution.
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