50+ start-ups take up the hackathon challenge in ŠKODA AUTO DigiLab’s i-mobilothon

James Good Corporate

The second edition of i-mobilothon witnesses pioneering concepts relating to Mobility and Information Technology with the potential to shape the future of the Automotive Industry

  • Four challenges for the hackathon events – Internet of Things, mobility solutions in the Metaverse, transforming mobility solutions through Artificial Intelligence, and           holistic sustainability
  • Dave.ai and Xane.ai emerged as the co-winners with a Metaverse and Artificial Intelligence concept
  • More than 50 start-ups took part in the challenge this year
  • ‘i-Mobilothon 2022’ received 200+ registrations across various categories

An eclectic mix of transformative ideas emerged at the ŠKODA AUTO DigiLab India’s ‘i-Mobilothon 2022’, with Dave.ai and Xane.ai winning the hackathon with a breakthrough idea on the Metaverse and Artificial Intelligence. The second run of i-Mobilothon, which concluded today, saw over 50 start-ups taking up the challenge and developing some outstanding workable ideas. This year, i-mobilothon received more than 200 registrations from start-ups and students to internal employees entering across various categories.

The pioneering concepts stemming from i-Mobilothon have the potential to help the automotive industry address the mobility needs of customers more effectively.

Piyush Arora, Managing Director of ŠKODA AUTO Volkswagen India Pvt. Ltd. emphasised, “The Indian automotive and tech ecosystem is truly world-class, and this is what we witnessed at ‘i-mobilothon 2022’. Innovation is central to our business in the VW Group, and the i-mobilothon platform enables us to kindle this spirit and at the same time identify and collaborate on innovative mobility solutions. I congratulate both Dave.ai and Xane.ai for winning with their brilliant concept and all participants for demonstrating exceptional innovation. We look forward to cooperating with them to develop tailor-made digital mobility solutions for our discerning customers in the region. The past thirteen weeks of ‘i-mobilothon 2022’ leading up to the award ceremony today have been an overwhelming and enriching experience.”

The ‘i-Mobilothon 2022’ was organised by ŠKODA AUTO DigiLab India, one of the three agile business innovation hubs for ŠKODA AUTO globally, in collaboration with Volkswagen Group Technology Solutions India Pvt. Ltd. (formerly Volkswagen IT Services). This year, hackathon events were organised under four banners: the Internet of Things (IoT), mobility solutions in the Metaverse, transforming mobility solutions with Artificial Intelligence, and holistic sustainability, for which more than 50 start-ups took up the challenge. In all, ‘i-Mobilothon’ received over 200 registrations across the various categories.

The second run saw the contestants develop many noteworthy solutions, addressing issues in the Metaverse, Artificial Intelligence and the IoT. The thirteen-week hackathon went live on 12 September 2022, followed by mentoring sessions and the final Jury session on 22 November 2022. The hackathon was held in hybrid mode in two stages – the inauguration and the final proof-of-concept presentations. Students, start-ups, and Volkswagen Group employees competed in teams at the i.Mobilothon hackathon.

The closing and award ceremony was held recently, where Dave.ai and Xane.ai were given the first prize for their Metaverse and Artificial Intelligence concept.

The contest offered an inclusive, agile, and multi-disciplinary launch pad for India’s creative minds and code developers to apply their skills in building prototypes that drive real business impact at scale. The hackathon was open to start-ups, university students across India, as well as employees of Volkswagen Group companies in India. Contestants developed and designed prototypes that promote future car connectivity, enhance the customer experience, business digitisation, and pre-sales and post-sales solutions driven by Artificial Intelligence, augmented reality, and data analytics. For more details, visit mobilothon (i-mobilothon.com)

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