Bhavish Aggarwal’s Krutrim Reinvents Itself As India’s First Profitable AI Cloud Startup

Krutrim, India’s first GenAI unicorn founded by Ola’s Bhavish Aggarwal, has undergone a strategic realignment. After initially focusing on AI model development and chip design, the company has shifted its resources toward building a full-stack AI cloud platform. This pivot reflects both market realities and growing demand for sovereign AI infrastructure in India.

Strategic Pivot To Cloud Services

In late 2025, Krutrim paused work on chip design and large language models, reallocating capital and engineering talent to cloud infrastructure. The company now operates a domestically built AI cloud stack designed to support enterprise workloads across sectors such as mobility, manufacturing, telecom, finance, healthcare, and logistics.

Aggarwal emphasized that Krutrim’s cloud is “built for Indian enterprises, by Indian engineers,” highlighting its independence from foreign providers. This shift also followed Ola Group’s migration of all workloads from Microsoft Azure to Krutrim Cloud, demonstrating confidence in its in-house capabilities.

Financial Milestone

Krutrim reported ₹300 crore in revenue for FY26, nearly triple the previous year, alongside its first annual net profit with a profit after tax margin exceeding 10%. The company is now financially self-sustaining, requiring no immediate external funding. This profitability marks a turning point for the startup, which had faced criticism over earlier AI products and layoffs.

Market Context And Competition

India’s AI infrastructure market is heating up, with rivals like Sarvam showcasing new open-source models and hardware. Krutrim’s pivot reflects the high costs and technical challenges of building large-scale AI models, while cloud services offer more sustainable revenue streams. With over 25 enterprise customers already onboard, Krutrim is positioning itself as a trusted domestic alternative to global cloud giants.

Key Highlights

• Krutrim pivots from AI model development and chip design to AI cloud services
• FY26 revenue: ₹300 crore, tripling year-on-year
• First annual net profit with >10% PAT margin
• Over 25 enterprise clients across telecom, finance, healthcare, logistics, and mobility
• Ola Group fully migrated workloads from Microsoft Azure to Krutrim Cloud
• Positioned as India’s sovereign AI cloud provider

Sources: Moneycontrol, MediaNama, BW Businessworld, NewsBytes, TechCrunch, The Economic Times