Maruti Suzuki India has expanded its startup innovation programme by partnering with five Indian startups to jointly develop artificial intelligence (AI)-powered business solutions and environmentally responsible battery recycling technologies.
The move is aimed at improving operational efficiency, enhancing customer experience and supporting the company’s long-term sustainability goals as India’s automotive sector moves towards greater electrification.
The five startups, MiniMines, Easework AI, Sarvam AI, Siftly and CodeMate AI, were selected from the fifth cohort of the Maruti Suzuki Incubation Programme (MSIP), which is run in partnership with NSRCEL, the startup incubation arm of the Indian Institute of Management (IIM) Bangalore.
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AI and sustainability take centre stage
Each startup will work on a different business challenge within Maruti Suzuki.
MiniMines will focus on developing a safe and environmentally friendly process to recycle end-of-life lithium-ion batteries and recover valuable materials. The project supports the growing need for sustainable battery management as electric vehicle adoption increases across India.
The remaining startups will deploy AI across several business functions. Easework AI will automate procurement workflows using agentic AI, while Sarvam AI will build multilingual generative AI agents to improve customer interactions across different touchpoints.
Siftly will use generative AI to strengthen brand visibility, and CodeMate AI will help speed up software development for internal business applications.
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The startup ecosystem continues to shape Maruti’s innovation roadmap
“The company has consistently worked with startups to solve real business problems through practical innovation.”
-Hisashi Takeuchi, Managing Director & Chief Executive Officer, Maruti Suzuki
He noted that while MiniMines will strengthen the company’s battery recycling efforts, the other four startups will improve customer engagement and operational efficiency across the business.
The collaboration also highlights the growing role of Indian startups in shaping the future of mobility through AI, automation and sustainable technologies.
According to Maruti Suzuki, its innovation ecosystem has grown significantly over the past seven years.
The company has screened around 7,400 startups, engaged with more than 250 of them and onboarded 38 as long-term partners through programmes including the Accelerator, Incubation Programme, Mobility Challenge, Nurture and FundRays.
As automakers prepare for the next phase of electric mobility, partnerships like these indicate that innovation is driven by collaboration rather than in-house development alone.
Maruti Suzuki’s latest initiative also signals that AI and battery sustainability are becoming as important as vehicle engineering in shaping the future of India’s automotive industry.
Samarjit Kaur is a journalist and communications professional covering technology & emerging digital trends. With a focus on clarity and context, she reports on developments shaping industries and governance. When not reporting, she chooses to plug-in and relax on her playlists and plan her next bucket-list trips!
