Maruti Suzuki Accelerator

The Accelerator is the programme Maruti Suzuki Innovation calls its flagship, and the one that grew out of the original Mobility & Automobile Innovation Lab. It prefers startups that are past MVP with a few customers already using the product, and it has also worked with startups past product-market fit. Cohorts are assigned strategic use cases by Maruti Suzuki and given access to the company's test bed.

What you get

• A Maruti Suzuki-funded proof of concept for selected startups
• Co-creation on a real company use case
• Mentoring from internal and external experts, focused on go-to-market
• A product assessment and roadmap review
• Cash grants, a Maruti Suzuki car and a networking visit to Japan for winners
• Consideration for a strategic investment afterwards
• Alumni benefits: cloud access, investor mixers, venture-capital roundtables and the annual Startup Connect event

Who can apply

• Any startup with an innovative, cost-effective idea, domestic or international
• You do not have to be an automotive startup — explain in the application how your technology could be used in mobility
• Not-for-profit startups are accepted
• Startups that have already raised are accepted; include details of past rounds
• You can re-apply to a later cohort

How selection works: applications are judged on technology, scalability, uniqueness and viability by a jury of Maruti Suzuki business unit leaders and people from the startup ecosystem. Selected startups are onboarded at an in-person kickoff at the Innovation Gym, mentored, and taken through capacity development. They then pitch in a boardroom setting on Innovation Day to the Managing Director and business unit leaders. The business units decide which startups get a funded pilot.

How to apply: complete the Accelerator application form on the Maruti Suzuki Innovation site, covering product, market, team, business model, traction and roadmap, and optionally a proposed Maruti Suzuki use case. Participation is free and Maruti Suzuki takes no equity. Shortlisted applicants are contacted when the next cohort opens. Note that the programme page gives the length as about four months while the home page card says six.