Amid the buzz of a second public listing from Bhavish Aggarwal-led Ola Group, the company plans to change its holding structure. The first entity to get a revamp is the essential Ola Maps.
In the next few months, Aggarwal plans to restructure the companies he owns into a conglomerate structure, bringing companies like publicly listed Ola Electric, ride-hailing app operator Ola Consumer, and his AI startup Krutrim under one roof, reported the Economic Times (ET). As of now, these companies operate as associate companies.
Typically, a parent company has a significant minority stake in associate firms but does not have full control. In contrast, a conglomerate often owns its group of firms fully or as subsidiaries. Converting to a conglomerate can lead to risk diversification and access to new markets.
According to Ola Electric's DRHP filed with Sebi in 2023, at the time it had six sister companies - five in India and one in the US. These include ANI Technologies Private Ltd, Ola Financial Services, Ola Fleet Technologies, Ola Stores Technologies, and Pisces eServices.
Later, in December 2023, Bhavish Aggarwal launched his artificial intelligence startup Krutrim AI. It became India's first AI unicorn in 2024 after raising $50 million from Matrix Partners India.
Ola Maps First to Get Revamp
According to the ET report, Ola Maps would be the first product to get its management restructured, with plans to bring it under Krutrim. It was developed by Ola's parent company, ANI Technologies, and released in 2022. Reports say it was built with the help of Pune-based startup Geospoc Geospatial Services, which Ola acquired back in October 2021. It has been operating under ANI Technologies so far.
After its launch, Ola Maps was accused of copyright infringement by geotech firm MapmyIndia. They accused the Bhavish Aggarwal-led group of reverse-engineering its licensed product.
Meanwhile, Aggarwal is reportedly planning to take his second company, Ola Consumer, public through an initial public offering (IPO). According to Entrackr, in November last year, ANI Technologies reportedly called an extraordinary general meeting where they discussed plans for the IPO.
