Get Set, Co-Create: This Startup Is On The Fast Lane To Innovate With Mercedes’ Startup Autobahn

The world, as we know it, is evolving at breakneck speed and technology is at the core of this rapid digital transformation. Every day, companies and entrepreneurs break new ground in innovation and push the boundaries of technology a bit more. In order to sustain the pace of innovation that is truly transformative and disruptive, companies and startups have to find scope for collaboration.

This concept called Co-Create has been propagated by economists and industry experts worldover. The World Economic Forum cites the example of Europe, which boasts of an innovation-driven ecosystem and is reaping its benefits. Its economic growth rate is higher than that of the USA and the growth forecast for the future looks optimistic. This change is largely propelled by the changing nature of businesses in the region, who are now adopting a more collaborative approach towards startups. “Partnerships between incumbent players and startups are the way forward for the Fourth Industrial Revolution to be sustainable in the long term. I’m talking about a model where start-ups use technology to add value to existing players without necessarily disrupting them. Deliveroo does exactly this with restaurants, Gett with taxis and Opportunity Network with corporates and banks” said EnricaSighinolfi, Opportunity Network

This is easier said than done, but companies around the world have initiated efforts to bring about a bigger sense of collaboration between innovators to solve specific, customer-relevant problems. The scale and reach of a corporate combined with the high Innovation Quotient (IQ) can be an unstoppable force for the Fourth Industrial Revolution. For instance, Startup Xchange works with DBS Bank to bring onboard startups that can address tailored, specific needs of the bank. Since its pilot, Startup Xchange has matched 21 startups with units within the bank and its various SME clients, resulting in more than 10 emerging tech solutions being rolled out and more expected this year.

Startup Autobahn Seeks Industry-Specific Solutions

Its early days for India when it comes to co-creation, but it is being aggressively pursued by large enterprises. Today’s breed of technology startups are riding the wave of innovation, but require immense help in scaling their technologies. And this is where enterprises and companies can play a definitive and transformative role.

Recently, Video analytics platform Veda Labs, incubated out of NASSCOM Center of Excellence Gurugramwas shortlisted by Startup Autobahn – the co-creation arm of Mercedes Benz Research & Development India – to develop a host of solutions in the areas of analytics and other technologies pertaining to connected vehicles.

Per the process of Startup Autobahn, Veda Labs among 11 other shortlisted startups will work on pilot projects with core members of Daimler’s departments in future.

The Beginning:

Veda Labs founded in 2018 is an AI-based organization that harnesses computer vision, machine learning and IoT to provide analytics across various platforms, So far, the startup has analysed 10,505 hours of video content through 103 camera feeds and has built 14 custom-made alerts based on data obtained from video feeds.

The startup’s uses computer vision and AI to detect the total number of humans in a retail or warehouse setup, provides a demographic overview of customers with information on gender, age group and emotions. While this solution fits in the mould of the retail sector quite naturally, it has found a place for applicability in the other sectors as well.

Cofounder Vivek Singh says. “We are a pure play technology solution provider who can provide scalable solutions based on an existing market need. We are working with our initial set of clients to scale the platform and provide industry specific scalable solutions. Additionally, we are working on India-specific market challenges while scaling up the company in Europe and North America region.”

Singh maintains the status quo that the utility of technology should be industry-agnostic, for wider application. His AI platform is no different – while he may have started out by providing his solution to retail, he believes the platform can be suited for other industry needs as well. Currently, Veda Labs is working with two of India’s leading names in cement manufacturing and retail.

Veda Labs is incubated out of NASSCOM Center of Excellence IoTGurugram