6 Indian, 3 German firms emerge winners at 9th edition of Maruti's startup program

Maruti MD and CEO Hisashi Takeuchi with the winners of the ninth cohort of Maruti Suzuki Accelerator.

The country's largest carmaker, Maruti Suzuki India, today announced the names of the nine winners, including six Indian startups and three German startups, of the ninth cohort of its flagship program, Maruti Suzuki Accelerator.

Among the six Indian firms are Frinks AI, mistEO, Adagrad, Com Olho, ProSolvr and Eligere. The three German winners include Caire AI, Syn2Core and Talonic. The nine companies won in the newly introduced Global Startups category of Maruti Suzuki Accelerator.

The ninth cohort had global participation, a first for Maruti Suzuki Accelerator, with 19 startups from India and seven from Germany.

The cohort witnessed startups showcasing AI-powered solutions across various domains, such as cybersecurity, road safety, quality control, EV charging infrastructure and battery swapping, among others.

All nine startups will now engage in a proof of concept (PoC) with Maruti, working closely with the company's teams to test and validate their solutions in real-world conditions.

"Startups bring fresh thinking and new ideas. Through the Maruti Suzuki Accelerator program, 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," said Hisashi Takeuchi, Managing Director and CEO, Maruti Suzuki India.

"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," he added.

The Maruti Suzuki Accelerator program was introduced in 2019 to promote innovation in the automobile manufacturing and mobility space by collaborating with startups.

Over the years, the carmaker has launched several programs to support startups, including Maruti Suzuki Incubation (2020), Mobility Challenge (2021) and Nurture (2023).

In six years, Maruti has screened over 5,000 startups, engaged 150 startups and onboarded 25 startups as partners.