How RoshAi Is Driving Autonomy In Ports And Mining Operations

by · Inc42

SUMMARY

  • RoshAi offers retrofit-ready hardware combined with AI software, and a cloud-based fleet management system, enabling Level 4 autonomous driving for trucks, buses, and passenger cars
  • The software is trained on data ranging from ideal road environments to including all sorts of Indian intricacies like stray animals and cattle, humans, potholes and other chaos
  • The startup is aiming to close the current financial year at an operating revenue of ₹50 Cr, up from the ₹15 Cr it generated in FY26
  • Added to Saved Stories in Login

Severe driver shortage is an issue not just in population-starved countries like the US, but also those like India, which has no census-shortage, but is still one of the trend’s biggest victims. Despite being the world’s most populous country, India faces a shortage of 22 lakh skilled drivers according to the World Bank.

Younger, digital-native generations view the trucking industry with disdain, opting for less back-breaking, stable and respectable jobs, preferably with set working hours, benefits and pay.

But an idle truck is a depleting asset, and the shortage is driving up shipment costs and significant delays in freight transport.

This is the problem identified by the founder of RoshAi during the covid pandemic, when driver shortages were exacerbated by lockdown-induced migrations. “I thought to myself, what am I doing automating cars in my backyard when this is the problem my technology is most suitable for right now,” the startup’s cofounder and CEO Roshy John told Inc42.

Launched in 2021, the startup is a brainchild of John and Rajaram Moorth, who after almost a decade of pouring their life savings into researching and developing autonomous vehicle technology and developing prototypes starting from Tata Nanos to BMWs and large trucks, identified the opportunity to launch in the industrial automation space.

John met his cofounder and RoshAi CTO Moorthy during his stint at Wipro, and tagged along for the entire ride before RoshAi was finally incorporated five years ago.

“I was already working on the prototype for a decade and in 2020, the Covid-19 pandemic halted shipping lines. The driver shortage led to a eureka moment for us and we realise the abundant use cases of driverless vehicles beyond commuting,” John told Inc42.

Fast forward five years, what started out as a backyard project has now turned into a complete autonomous fleet transformation startup courting domestic and international clients alike.