Maruti Suzuki initiates 7th round of MAIL initiative

Maruti Suzuki India (MSI) on Thursday announced the seventh round of its 'Mobility & Automobile Innovation Lab' (MAIL) initiative, inviting entries from early startups in the mobility and automobile space.

The company invites early-stage startups to apply for Cohort 7 of its (MAIL) programme and welcomes startups offering solutions in the technology, mobility and automobile space to participate in the initiative, MSI said in a statement.

Established with a vision to co-create implementable solutions in the mobility space, the winning startups will get an opportunity to undertake a paid Proof-of-Concept (PoC) with the company, it added.

All the shortlisted startups will be provided an opportunity to turn their innovative ideas into practical and disruptive solutions, while showcasing their entrepreneurial capabilities and will be guided and mentored by industry experts in the domestic and international startup ecosystem, the auto major said.

"Our engagement with startups over the previous cohorts has been very fruitful. Undertaking PoCs with 19 of the startups, we were able to bring about agility in working, by bringing forth new technologies," MSI Managing Director & CEO Kenichi Ayukawa stated.

Some of the areas where the company is working with these startups include smart logistics, energy management and digital transformation and ADAS, he added.

"Now, with entries opening for Cohort 7, we hope to see our Company engage with more such startups, which can further add value to the industry. Through each cohort of the MAIL program we have been successively strengthening our commitment to the Government's Startup India initiative," Ayukawa noted.

MSI had introduced the MAIL programme in January 2019, to identify and bring together startups with innovative and cutting-edge solutions, and further collaborate to co-create technology-led solutions in mobility and automobile space.