Taking a step ahead towards democratizing technology-based innovation, Maruti Suzuki India Limited announced the winners of Cohort 7 of its Mobility & Automobile Innovation Lab (MAIL) program for startups. Nine startups pitched their innovative solutions in this cohort. Of these, the top five startups- Priva Sapien, Jidoka Technologies, Ravity, Road Bounce, Minion Labs earned an opportunity to conduct a Paid Proof-of-Concept (PoC) with Maruti Suzuki.
The startups in Cohort 7 extend solutions in domains like Computer Vision, Driver Assistance, Augmented Reality (AR)/ Virtual Reality (VR), Telematics, Internet of Things (IoT), Robotics and Cybersecurity. Under the MAIL program, the startups receive extensive mentorship by domain experts from the domestic as well as international startup ecosystem. Further, they are provided vast test beds to improvise and enhance their solutions, while simultaneously contributing business value to Maruti Suzuki’s operations. These solutions will help enhance efficiency and productivity in business areas like Quality, Digital Enterprise, Marketing & Sales, Production and Service.
Mr. Hisashi Takeuchi, Managing Director & CEO, Maruti Suzuki India Limited said, “The MAIL program was initiated in 2019 with an aim to build an ecosystem to foster and accelerate technology-based innovations to benefit the mobility industry. Aligned to the philosophy of ‘Innovate, Collaborate, Co-create’, the initiative brings together startups, academia, and industry players to leverage their technology and innovation capabilities. Recently, Hon’ble Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi highlighted the power of innovation, new ideas and youthful energy that startups bring with them. Mobility space offers ample opportunities to promote innovation. With each successive cohort, we are able to add to the pool of industry relevant business solutions across the mobility domain.”
The other startups which presented their pitch as a part of Cohort 7 were HelloAR, Doozy Robotics, Hone SHM, I’m Beside you.
As part of the MAIL program, the selected startups will get an opportunity to work with Maruti Suzuki to see their disruptive ideas evolve into practical solutions. For the participants, the initiative hones entrepreneurial capabilities. Shortlisted startups also get an opportunity to undertake a paid Proof-of-Concept (PoC) with Maruti Suzuki and access to coworking space of Maruti Suzuki Innovation Gym.
Till now, over 1,200 startups have been screened across cohorts to become a part of the MAIL program. Going through various rounds of the evaluation process, 42 of these startups have been mentored as a part of the program. They got the opportunity to present their innovative solutions to the senior management of Maruti Suzuki. Of these, 27 startups were shortlisted for a PoC with the Company. Additionally, 11 startups have been successfully onboarded as business partners.
