Maruti launches mobility challenge for startups to explore new tech

Maruti Suzuki India (MSI) on Friday said it has launched a programme to explore new-age mobility technologies and help growth-stage startups scale up their business. Mobility Challenge was unveiled in partnership with Hyderabad-based innovation intermediary and business incubator T-Hub. Startups from Series A to unicorns from India and overseas are invited for this challenge and will be expected to showcase their cutting-edge technology solutions in the mobility space, MSI said in a statement.

Through the initiative, the automaker is eager to partner with startups, including established players that have a ready product/solution with an existing customer base, it added. Earlier in January 2019, MSI had launched MAIL (Mobility & Automobile Innovation Lab) programme in partnership with GHV Accelerator to accelerate the growth of the budding startups. While MAIL is an existing initiative, Mobility Challenge is another all-new programme targeted exclusively at mature or growth-stage startups.

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“We believe in collaborations, which help us offer new technologies in our products and services. We have been able to meaningfully engage with 17 startups under our MAIL programme in less than three years of its launch. Now, with the launch of the Mobility Challenge, we look forward to working with mature startups from India and overseas to expand and upgrade our business operations,” MSI MD and CEO Kenichi Ayukawa noted. The programme will select mature startups who have technology in digital, data and AI/ML (artificial intelligence/machine learning) in the fields of augmented and virtual reality, autonomous mobility, automotive remote diagnostics, automotive servicing efficiency, big data analytics, electrification, internet-of-things, mobility-as-a-service and smart infrastructure.

The selected startups in Mobility Challenge will receive support and mentoring from experts at MSI and T-Hub. This includes domain knowledge, investor connect and testbed, MSI said. The company will identify two winners towards the end and award them a cash prize of Rs 10 lakhs each, it added.