The automaker will implement AI across procurement, customer engagement, software development, branding, and battery recycling through startups selected from the incubation program.
Maruti Suzuki India has partnered with five startups, including Sarvam AI, to develop AI, automation and sustainability solutions across business operations.
The partnership aims to improve operational efficiency, customer engagement and sustainability by deploying technology across sourcing, software development, brand management and battery recycling.
The five startups include MiniMines, Easework AI, Sarvam AI, Siftly and CodeMate AI and were selected from the fifth group of Maruti Suzuki Incubation Program (MSIP). Each startup will collaborate with Maruti Suzuki teams to address specific business challenges and deploy practical technology solutions.
Among the selected startups, Sarvam AI will develop a multilingual generative AI agent to improve customer interactions across Maruti Suzuki’s customer touchpoints.
This implementation enables AI-powered conversations in multiple languages in India, helping to enhance customer engagement.
Easework AI implements agent AI to automate end-to-end procurement workflows for indirect consumables, reduce manual processes, and improve operational efficiency.
This project reflects the increasing adoption of AI agents in enterprise workflows beyond customer-facing applications.
CodeMate AI focuses on accelerating the development of software applications used across Maruti Suzuki’s business processes, helping development teams build and deploy applications faster.
Siftly uses generative AI to improve brand awareness and expand the use of AI beyond internal operations and customer engagement.
Sustainability remains part of technology strategy
Alongside its AI efforts, Maruti Suzuki is also leveraging startups to tackle sustainability challenges.
MiniMines develops an environmentally friendly process to recycle used lithium-ion batteries and recover valuable materials from them.
This initiative supports the company’s efforts to create sustainable battery lifecycle management as electric vehicle adoption continues to expand.
According to Maruti Suzuki, the selected startups will jointly develop practical technology solutions that can be deployed across various business functions.
The five startups are part of the latest batch of Maruti Suzuki’s incubation programme, which supports early stage startups through mentorship, incubation and access to business opportunities.
This program is conducted in association with NSRCEL, IIM Bangalore.
Commenting on the partnership, Maruti Suzuki India Managing Director and CEO Hisashi Takeuchi said the company will continue to work closely with startups to co-create practical solutions to real-world business challenges.
He added that MiniMines will support the company’s battery recycling efforts, while the four other startups will help improve customer engagement and operational efficiency across the business.
Over 7,400 startups reviewed since 2019
Maruti Suzuki has steadily expanded its engagement with startups over the past seven years.
Since 2019, the company has screened around 7,400 startups, signed over 250 and hired 38 as business partners.
Beyond incubation programmes, Maruti Suzuki runs multiple start-up initiatives covering different stages of innovation.
These include the Maruti Suzuki Accelerator for growth-stage startups, the Mobility Challenge for mature mobility innovations, an incubation program for idea-stage startups in partnership with IIM Calcutta Innovation Park, and FundRays launched in partnership with ISB Hyderabad to improve investment readiness of program graduates.
With the latest partnership, Maruti Suzuki is expanding the use of AI and automation across its core business operations, while continuing to tap into the startup ecosystem to develop enterprise technology solutions for procurement, customer engagement, software development and sustainability.
