Why Bhavish Aggarwal Should Think Beyond EVs — Into the Consumer OS Space

Bhavish Aggarwal, founder of the Ola companies, is a rare breed—a tech entrepreneur with a patriotic mission to make India a global leader in electric vehicles (EVs) and digital innovation. His Ola Sankalp 2024 and 2025 livestreams (which I watched in full on X) showcased a dizzying array of promises: electric motorcycles, e-commerce EVs, home energy storage, AI-driven software, and even modular micro-warehouses. Aggarwal’s “India Inside” vision, backed by his defiance of tech giants like Google and LinkedIn, paints him as a disruptor. But does Ola deliver on its lofty goals, or is Aggarwal over-promising? More intriguingly, could Ola’s MoveOS spark a revolutionary consumer OS? Let’s dive in.


The Grand Promises: Ola’s Ambitious Roadmap

At Sankalp 2024 and 2025 (and through posts on X, in between) Aggarwal has unveiled Ola’s plan to redefine mobility and tech:

Electric Motorcycles: A portfolio of mass and premium bikes, like the Roadster X+ and Diamondhead, powered by Ola’s indigenous Bharat 4680 Cell. 

E-commerce EVs: Specialized vehicles for India’s booming quick-commerce sector. 

Home Energy Storage: Battery packs leveraging the Bharat Cell for rooftop solar energy storage and grid applications. 

Modular and Mobile Micro-Warehouses: Mobile, adjustable, and automated units to revolutionize quick-commerce logistics. 

AI and E-Chips: The Krutrim platform, with AI features, e-chips, and data centers. 

Ola Consumer: A rebrand of Ola Cabs into a broader e-commerce and mobility platform, with Ola Share and ONDC partnerships.

These promises position Ola as a vertically integrated tech giant, building everything in-house—cells, motors, software, and more. Aggarwal’s patriotic zeal, calling for “Indian technology for an Indian century,” resonates deeply. But, execution tells a different story.


The Shortfalls: Over-Promise, Under-Delivery

While Aggarwal’s vision is inspiring, Ola’s track record reveals gaps: 

Motorcycles: Only the Roadster X+ has materialized, with deliveries pending and the broader portfolio (including Diamondhead, slated for 2027) lagging. 

Home Energy Storage: The Bharat Cell is a breakthrough (with 70+ patents), but home storage solutions remain in R&D, with no consumer products. 

Micro-Warehouses: Virtually no progress, with no updates at Sankalp 2025. 

AI Infrastructure: MoveOS 6 delivers AI features like chatbots, but e-chips and data centers are still aspirational. 

Ola Consumer: The rebrand and Ola Share relaunch are underway, but the broader e-commerce vision is nascent.  

Ola Electric’s market share dipped from 19.9% to 17.2% between June and July 2025, and a 34% registration drop in August 2025 signals operational hiccups. Customer complaints about delays and service quality, alongside a ₹347 crore net loss in Q1 FY25, highlight the strain of Aggarwal’s expansive ambitions.


Pioneering 2W EV Innovations: MoveOS Shines

Despite the gaps, Ola’s innovations in the 2W EV space are undeniable. The star of Sankalp 2025, to me, was MoveOS 6, a world-class operating system for Ola’s scooters (S1 Pro Sport, S1 Z) and the Roadster X+. With AI-driven features like voice assistants, predictive maintenance, and seamless navigation, MoveOS is arguably the first-of-its-kind for 2W EVs globally. Unlike Ather Energy’s Atherstack, which focuses on connectivity, MoveOS integrates hardware (Bharat Cell, ferrite motors) and software for a holistic experience. Paired with the Bharat 4680 Cell’s five-fold energy density, Ola’s tech stack sets it apart from competitors reliant on imported components. This is where Aggarwal’s technical pedigree and “India Inside” ethos shine.


The Real Opportunity: A Revolutionary Consumer OS

Here’s where things get exciting. MoveOS’s success hints at a bigger opportunity: a consumer electricals/electronics OS built on Ola’s Krutrim AI platform. Imagine a unified OS powering EVs, home electrical appliances, and even smart devices, rivaling global ecosystems like Apple’s iOS or Huawei’s HarmonyOS. Aggarwal’s public tiffs with LinkedIn and Google Cloud, plus his pivot to Ola Maps, show his resolve to break free from Western tech dominance. As an IIT CSE grad with a knack for building tech unicorns (Ola Cabs, Ola Electric, Ola Krutrim), he’s uniquely positioned to pull this off. Krutrim’s AI capabilities—already enabling MoveOS’s chatbot and cloud services for ONDC partners—could scale to unify Ola’s ecosystem and beyond.

But this will require no small effort. Building a cross-device OS demands massive R&D, cybersecurity, and hardware compatibility. Ola’s financial strain and operational challenges suggest it’s not ready yet. My take: Ola should streamline its focus—double down on Ola Electric's scooters and motorcycles, and Ola Consumer’s mobility services core—before chasing this grand vision. Dropping speculative projects like micro-warehouses or e-chips would free resources to perfect MoveOS and lay the groundwork for a consumer OS.


Conclusion: Balancing Vision and Execution

Bhavish Aggarwal is a visionary patriot, pushing India toward tech self-reliance with Ola’s Bharat Cell and MoveOS. But his tendency to over-promise—spanning motorcycles, warehouses, and AI infrastructure—has led to delivery shortfalls that dent credibility. MoveOS is a game-changer, and integrating it with Krutrim could birth a revolutionary consumer OS, positioning Ola as India’s Tesla or Xiaomi. To get there, Aggarwal must prioritize execution over ambition, focusing on what Ola does best: 2W EVs and mobility services. If he can bridge the promise-delivery gap, India might just see its first indigenous global-scale consumer software ecosystem.

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