Maruti Suzuki Boosts Innovation With Six Startups

Synopsis: Maruti Suzuki partners with six startups to develop AI-driven and technology-enabled solutions aimed at improving manufacturing efficiency, predictive maintenance, sustainability initiatives, and customer experience enhancement.

Maruti Suzuki has selected six startups as part of its 10th cohort under its accelerator programme to collaboratively build tech-enabled business solutions with an emphasis on enhancing manufacturing, safety, sustainability and customer connect. This reflects the automaker's ongoing effort to leverage advanced digital technologies and artificial intelligence in its operations.

The selected startups, Goat Robotics, SheerDrive, Schijnenn Digital, GenbaNEXT, Swayatt Drishtigochar and Swiftex have been allocated paid proof-of-concept (POC) projects. They will collaborate with Maruti Suzuki to address real-world industrial and mobility challenges through their innovative solutions, that are geared towards optimizing processes like predictive maintenance, material traceability, product development and building an AI-powered customer support system.

Goat Robotics will focus on the automation of safe and effective movement of materials across the manufacturing shop floor. SheerDrive aims to develop a real-time platform that visualizes used car prices based on market demand and supply data. Schijnenn Digital will be working on accelerating the product design and development cycle by leveraging digital technologies and GenbaNEXT will aim to build a supply chain visibility solution that will enable material traceability, thereby supporting circularity and recycling.

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While Swayatt Drishtigochar would enable safer operations of industrial equipment and predictive maintenance with an AI based system, the purpose of Swiftex would be to build a sales enablement platform that can help the dealer executives increase the level of customer interaction and engagement.

"Our expanding operations call for intelligent, tech-led systems for enhancing plant safety, shortening development timelines, and optimizing the operational effectiveness, Maruti Suzuki MD & CEO Hisashi Takeuchi noted. He also highlighted that the initiative extends support to the Indian government's Startup India initiative by providing startups access to mentors, infrastructure, and scale through a real business implementation.

Maruti Suzuki has reportedly screened over 6,800 startups over the past 7 years and interacted with more than 250 of them, inducting 34 startups as business partners. The company continues to boost its ecosystem of innovation as it is expediting its digital transformation initiatives across manufacturing and mobility operations.