Innovation in Motion – How Maruti Suzuki Turns Chaos into Collaboration

Reflections from Hyorhin on India’s startup spirit and what Germany can learn from its fearless approach to innovation

At the German Indian Innovation Corridor (GIIC) on October 6th in Berlin, I found myself confronted with two very different philosophies of innovation: India’s comfort with chaos and Germany’s preference for control. Hearing Maruti Suzuki’s Rohan Chhatwal speak made me wonder which of these forces actually drives meaningful progress. That contrast shaped how I listened to the entire discussion — and ultimately led me to the question at the end of this reflection.

During the panel “Fusion in Motion: From India to Germany — Smart Cities, Green Dreams, and Real-World Roads,” Rohan Chhatwal, Vice President at Maruti Suzuki, spoke with rare clarity. When he said, “You have to understand the chaos in a real sense to do business,” the audience immediately understood what he meant.

In India, innovation often begins where predictability ends. Startups there don’t wait for the perfect system — they build while the system itself is still taking shape. Rohan Chhatwal shared how Maruti Suzuki’s startup accelerator program invited over 70 companies from Berlin and across Europe, ultimately selecting seven to travel to India for “India Emotion Week.” The name itself captured something essential about Indian innovation: movement, energy, and collaboration.

Panel at the German Indian Innovation Conference (GIIC), with Rohan Chhatwal of Maruti Suzuki (first from right) offering key insights on India’s innovation mindset.

What stood out to me most was how Maruti Suzuki managed to channel that energy into structure. Their accelerator is not just a showcase but a real, functioning bridge — connecting startups directly to manufacturing and mobility ecosystems. It’s a model of collaboration where experimentation meets execution, and where ideas are transformed into tangible results.

Listening to the discussion, I couldn’t help but think of how Staex’s technology could enhance such cross-border collaboration. Staex builds secure, decentralized connectivity infrastructure that allows machines, sensors, and industrial systems to communicate safely and autonomously without relying on central servers.

In a dynamic innovation environment like India, this kind of architecture can enable startups to scale their experiments faster and more securely. Imagine a mobility startup testing real-time data applications across industrial fleets or smart infrastructure — Staex could provide the invisible backbone ensuring that data moves freely, securely, and efficiently. It’s technology designed not to control innovation, but to let it grow safely.

Hearing Rohan Chhatwal speak, I realized that what seems like “chaos” from the outside is actually a powerful form of adaptability. Where Germany brings structure, India brings motion — and when those two forces meet, they create something stronger: innovation that is both disciplined and alive.

As I left the conference hall, I kept returning to that single line: “You have to understand the chaos in a real sense to do business.” Maybe that’s true not just for India, but for innovation anywhere.

Perhaps progress doesn’t come from perfect systems, but from the courage to build while things are still uncertain.

So here’s the question I left with:

What if the next breakthrough doesn’t come from control — but from the courage to build in motion?

From Chaos to Collaboration: Suzuki India’s Startup Journey

About Hyorhin Lee

I’m Hyorhin Lee, a Korean intern at Staex, sharing my first-hand reflections from Berlin’s tech scene and beyond. My notes from panels and conferences highlight the human side of innovation — what it feels like when ideas turn into collaboration.