Mumbai-based startup SheerDrive has been named the First Runner-Up in the 10th Cohort of the Maruti Suzuki Accelerator Program, earning not just bragging rights, but also a paid Proof-of-Concept (PoC) engagement with India’s largest carmaker. In startup language, that’s the equivalent of getting a gold star from the class topper — and a project contract attached to it.
The Maruti Suzuki Accelerator Cohort 10 brought together startups developing AI-driven and technology-focused solutions across manufacturing, mobility, customer experience, and automotive operations. Amid the sea of buzzwords, dashboards, and algorithms, SheerDrive stood out by tackling one of India’s most stubborn automotive headaches: figuring out what a used car is actually worth.
Because let’s be honest — in India’s used-car market, pricing a vehicle can sometimes feel less like science and more like negotiating mangoes in a summer bazaar.
SheerDrive’s AI-powered pricing infrastructure aims to bring order to that chaos. The platform combines live market trends, historical transaction data, vehicle condition insights, and AI/ML analytics into a unified real-time pricing ecosystem. The goal is to make used-car pricing more transparent and reliable for OEMs, dealerships, banks, NBFCs, insurers, and even everyday customers trying to upgrade their wheels without losing sleep — or money.
Commenting on the achievement, Ravi Mehra, Founder of SheerDrive, said price discovery remains one of the biggest unsolved challenges in the used-car ecosystem. He added that the company has always believed India’s future vehicle upgrade journey will rely heavily on transparent, data-backed pricing and scientific vehicle evaluation, making Maruti Suzuki’s recognition a significant validation of the company’s vision.
Over the past few years, SheerDrive has quietly built an ecosystem of AI-led and marketplace-driven products focused on digitising the pre-owned vehicle space.
Its flagship offerings include VIAR, an AI-based vehicle evaluation and pricing platform for OEMs and dealerships; Otobids Meta, a patented auction aggregation infrastructure platform connecting multiple auction marketplaces under one digital roof; and SheerDrivePRO, a B2B auction marketplace for used vehicles.
The recognition from Maruti Suzuki also highlights how the country’s automotive ecosystem is increasingly shifting its attention toward the organised used-car segment, where technology and data are expected to play a crucial role in improving customer trust and operational efficiency.
With India’s pre-owned car market accelerating rapidly, startups like SheerDrive are betting that the future buyer may no longer ask, “Kitna deti hai?” but instead, “AI kya kehta hai?”
