Maruti Suzuki names winners of 9th Accelerator programme cohort
startups
from India and three from Germany, marking the first cohort to feature international participation under the newly introduced Global Startups category.
The selected Indian startups are
Frinks AI
,
mistEO
,
Adagrad
,
Com Olho
,
ProSolvr
, and
Eligere
. The three German startups named are Caire AI, Syn2Core, and Talonic. All nine startups will now enter a proof-of-concept (PoC) phase with Maruti Suzuki, during which they will work with internal teams to test their solutions in real-world environments.
Focus on co-creation and government initiatives
Hisashi Takeuchi
, MD & CEO, Maruti Suzuki India Limited, said, 'Startups bring fresh thinking and new ideas. Through the
Maruti Suzuki Accelerator programme
, we have been working with them to co-create future ready solutions that enhance customer experience and drive operational efficiency in the automobile manufacturing and mobility space. The participation of global startups, this cohort onwards, marks a new milestone in this journey."
"It further supports our efforts to contribute meaningfully to 'Make in India' and 'Startup India' initiatives of the Government. We welcome the winning startups to join us in our mission to offer 'Joy of Mobility' to as many people as possible,' he added.
A total of 26 startups—19 from India and 7 from Germany—presented their solutions during the grand finale of the cohort. The innovations showcased included AI-powered technologies across fields such as cybersecurity, road safety, quality control, EV charging infrastructure, and battery swapping.
Broader innovation efforts
Maruti Suzuki has launched several innovation programmes over the past six years, screening more than 5,000 startups. Of these, 150 have been engaged and 25 have been onboarded as partners.
The Maruti Suzuki Accelerator programme began in January 2019 to promote open
innovation in automobile manufacturing
and mobility. This was followed by the Incubation Programme in August 2020 to support technology-enabled startups in the mobility space. The Mobility Challenge was launched in June 2021 to engage with growth-stage startups, and the Nurture pre-incubation initiative started in 2023 for early-stage ventures.
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