Used-car marketplace Cars24 has committed $20 million to a new AI initiative that will build AI products, support startups and partner with leading technology companies.
The initiative, called Cars24 Labs, will serve as the company's AI build, partnership and investment arm. Cars24 said the move was aimed at helping make India a place where frontier AI technologies are built, rather than only consumed.
Founder and CEO Vikram Chopra, said, 'We are committing $20 million to AI and launching Labs, our build, partner, and investment arm,' Chopra said. 'This is the biggest bet we've made as a company, and I want to explain exactly why we're making it.'
Cars24 Labs will focus on three areas: developing AI-native products and open-source models, working with leading AI companies to accelerate adoption and experimentation, and backing early-stage startups with capital, infrastructure and operational support.
The company said it is working with OpenAI, ElevenLabs and Amazon Web Services for the initiative.
The announcement comes as Indian startups and larger companies increase spending on AI, using the technology to improve products, customer support and internal operations.
Cars24 has increasingly embedded AI across its own business, including vehicle inspections, customer support, fraud detection, engineering and marketing.
According to the company, AI-powered inspections have helped reduce vehicle inspection times from about 60 minutes to 15 minutes. It also said AI handles more than 1.5 million minutes of customer calls each month across seven languages and supports audits at its retail hubs.
In his note announcing the initiative, Chopra said AI represented a technological shift bigger than mobile phones and the internet.
The AI push comes during a period of significant change for the SoftBank-backed company. In recent months, co-founder and chief operating officer Mehul Agrawal, co-founder and chief marketing officer Gajendra Jangid, and India used-car business CEO Himanshu Ratnoo have stepped down from executive roles.
Despite the leadership changes, Cars24 continues to move towards an IPO. In January, Chopra said the company hoped to go public within six to 12 months, citing improvements in its financial performance and the opportunity in India's estimated $200 billion used-car market.
The company said adjusted net revenue rose 27% to Rs 1,411 crore in FY26, while adjusted EBITDA losses narrowed to Rs 200 crore from Rs 475 crore a year earlier. Cars24 also reported its first adjusted EBITDA-profitable quarter in the January-to-March period, posting adjusted EBITDA of Rs 20 crore.
Ahead of its planned market debut, Cars24 has also expanded through acquisitions. It has bought vehicle information platform CarInfo and automotive utility startup Vehicle Info as part of its effort to build a full-stack vehicle ownership platform.
The company is also in the process of shifting its domicile from Singapore to India, a key step before filing draft papers for its proposed stock market listing.