PUNE Have you ever paid for damages for a rented car? Or had your insurance claim for the said damages rejected? Devesh Trivedi, an IIT Delhi graduate, faced a similar problem a few years back, but he did not let it go. He decided to find a solution, using technology, and reducing human intervention. Trivedi, along with Sanchit (who only goes by his first name) founded Inspektlabs, an inspection-as-a-service software startup in 2018. Their software uses artificial intelligence and machine learning to automate photo and video-based inspection of assets like cars.

In recent times, the race towards making Autonomous Vehicles (AVs) or self-driving cars have taken a big leap as several automotive players, and tech giants are investing huge capital on it. Many of them even have already begun test trials in countries like the US, Germany, UK, Japan, China, among others. Unlike its global counterparts, the Indian automotive sector seems slowly towards it. It is undoubtedly that the Indian automotive is one of the largest industries in the world. On Global perspective, several large automotive companies, technology firms as well as fleet service providers, such as Daimler, Uber, Tesla, General Motors, Audi, Waymo, Ford, Honda, BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Nissan, Toyota, and much more are investing substantial time, debt and capital on developing AVs. Conversely, in India, the Government is apprehensive of job losses due to automation.

How can companies identify--and source--the technologies that will be critical for crafting a strategy to keep up in the shifting automotive landscape? The automotive industry is in the early phases of what is expected to be rapid and fundamental change. Technology is the key to further penetration of all these trends, as well as the developing business models that allow companies to capitalize on them. The industry players--traditional automotive companies and new entrants alike--that identify and secure those technological resources will be best positioned to benefit in the new mobility landscape. Thus, industry players need to think about sourcing underlying technologies rather than acquiring single products or services.