Know about the heartbreaking death of AI engineer and Ola Krutim techie Nikhil Somwanshi, who took his own life due to work stress
A tragic incident in Bengaluru has sparked serious concerns about workplace culture in the tech industry, following the death of 25-year-old AI engineer Nikhil Somwanshi, who was employed at Krutrim, an artificial intelligence company owned by Ola. Nikhil was found dead at Agara Lake on May 8, prompting widespread online outrage and allegations linking his death to a toxic work environment.
Who is Nikhil Somwanshi as Ola Krutrim, Bengaluru techie commits suicide, biography, age, career and education
Age 25 Nikhil was a machine learning engineer with Krutrim, the artificial intelligence (AI) unit of Bhavish Aggrawal-led Ola.
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He interned at Kotak Mahindra Bank in Bengaluru for three months in 2023, and then had an internship at the IISc as a Natural Language Processing Engineer for six months (from January to June 2024) and the IISc internship displayed Nikhil Somwanshi’s work experience (part of his Master’s thesis) on large language model (LLM) and retrieval-augmented generation (RAG)-based chatbot Saathi.
Ola Group has confirmed that an employee at its AI unit, Krutrim, has died by suicide after Reddit posts claimed the person took the step due to “extreme work pressure” with the company saying, “We are deeply saddened by the tragic passing of one of our most talented young employees on the 8th of May.” The company also claimed Nikhil was on personal leave.
He had gone to the Pimpri Chinchwad Education Trust’S. Pimpri Chinchwad College Of Engineering from 2019-2022 where he did his Bachelor of Engineering – BE, Mechanical Engineering.
seems like this is the manager https://t.co/VpUgwNMdIz
— Rayan Das (@raydeeam) May 18, 2025
It was reported that Nikhil had joined Krutrim in August 2024, shortly after earning his master’s degree from the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) with a 9.30 CGPA. Media sources indicated that he had been under immense work pressure, managing tasks left unaddressed by multiple teammates who had resigned, reportedly due to their manager’s behavior. An FIR has been registered in connection with the incident, and investigations remain underway as the case continues to raise critical questions about mental health.
How social media reacted to Nikhil’s death?
Online posts, particularly one from a Reddit user by the name ‘Kirgawakutzo’, alleged that Rajkiran Panuganti, a US-based manager at Krutrim, had been verbally abusive toward new employees, regularly insulting junior staff and contributing to multiple resignations. The user claimed this pattern of behavior had created an unsafe and stressful work environment.
Why is this linkedin page 404https://t.co/Uktn7q5oTi pic.twitter.com/AMGBh8NP0I
— Kapil Patel (@CypherKapil) May 18, 2025
Krutrim, in its official statement, conveyed deep sorrow over the loss of their employee and confirmed that they had been in touch with relevant authorities to assist in the investigation. The company also stated that Nikhil had been on leave at the time of his death, having first requested time off on April 8 due to fatigue. Though he initially indicated some improvement, he later asked for an extension, which was reportedly approved.
Despite news of his passing, it was alleged that the manager in question continued to display similar patterns of mistreatment toward other employees. Anonymous accounts from current and former staff described the manager as someone with a reputation for hostility and poor people management, citing frequent outbursts and verbal abuse during meetings. Notably, one former employee mentioned having resigned without securing another position due to the overwhelming stress.
Suicide due to work pressure at the OLA, the worst place to work
byu/Kirigawakazuto inindianstartups
Meanwhile, Nikhil’s professional background, as outlined on his LinkedIn profile, reflected significant accomplishments. Before joining Krutrim, he had completed internships at Kotak Mahindra Bank and IISc. During his time at IISc, he contributed to an AI-powered chatbot project named ‘Saathi’, a collaborative initiative supported by institutions including Oxford Brookes University and funded by the Melinda Gates Foundation.
#JustIn | Karnataka police has registered a case following the alleged suicide of Ola Group Company Krutrim AI employee, Nikhil Somwanshi
Nikhil’s body was found in Agara Lake in Bengaluru & the police registered an FIR based on a complaint from the uncle of the deceased
Police… pic.twitter.com/lWbxiS1iuu
— CNBC-TV18 (@CNBCTV18Live) May 19, 2025