Cars24 Launches Grand Startup Challenge With ₹1 Crore Prize Pool — Finale on National Startup Day

Gurugram, October 9, 2026: Cars24, in collaboration with the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT), the Startup Policy Forum (SPF) and MeitY Startup Hub (MSH), has announced its inaugural Grand Startup Challenge — a national competition for early-stage founders with a ₹1 crore prize pool.

The Challenge is one of the flagship initiatives under the Memorandum of Understanding signed between Cars24 and DPIIT to strengthen India's startup ecosystem, bringing commitments across mentorship, skilling, AI enablement, investment access and road safety into a single national platform where founders compete for both funding and deployment opportunities within Cars24's operations.

What is on offer goes beyond cash. The ₹1 crore prize pool is distributed across the Grand Champion, runners-up, finalists and Track Excellence Awards, with the detailed structure to be finalised jointly with DPIIT. Top teams will enter live pilots within Cars24's operations, with production deployment for the Grand Champion within 90 days. The Grand Champion also gets direct induction into Cars24 AI Labs, alongside the Bharat Deeptech Cup, while shortlisted teams receive sandbox access — API credentials, compute credits and datasets — plus mentorship from Cars24's founders and leadership, and introductions to venture investors.

Problem statements will be developed jointly with DPIIT across four tracks: Fintech for the Unbanked (financial infrastructure for Indians with limited formal finance access), Mobility and Logistics Optimisation, Lending and Credit Infrastructure, and Road Safety and Vehicle Intelligence.

The national finale is planned around National Startup Day on 16 January 2027 in New Delhi. Founders can register their interest at gsc.cars24.com; applications, problem statements and the final event format will be announced in the coming months.