Lowered IPO price to rope in a wider set of investors: Ola Electric CEO Bhavish Aggarwal

Ola Electric founder and chief executive Bhavish Aggarwal said his decision to lower the IPO valuation of the electric vehicle company compared with its last private round was to help make the public offering attractive for a wider base of investors. The Rs 6,146 crore IPO, the largest so far this year in the Indian capital markets, is being conducted at a 25% discount to Ola Electric’s previous valuation of $5.4 billion. Aggarwal spoke to ET about the EV industry’s lowering dependency on government subsidies, taking Ola Electric public before his 12-year-old cab-hailing business, competitive pressure from legacy automotive players, and his journey as an entrepreneur taking his startup public. Edited excerpts: