From an idea to AIR 5 at IIT Delhi.
Every milestone, every validation, every credential — chronological.
Ideation
The founding team identifies the gap: modern vehicles operate as isolated agents. No shared intent means late reactions and preventable accidents. DriveLink is born.
First validation
Concept validated by PedalStart mentors Harsirjan Kour (Core Team) and Sayanee Bhowmik (Ex-VC, mentor). Vision refined; direction set.
First investor deck
High-impact pitch deck built; first investor meeting with Debasis Chakraborty (CEO, Dariaan Consulting). Insights from the CEO of Simple Energy on real-world EV fleet movement patterns.
Pitch Arena · National Finals
Competed against teams from across India in the Pitch Arena national finals at IIT Delhi.
All India Rank 5
Pitch Arena Finals · IIT Delhi
Manipal & SMVIT circuits
Pitched at Manipal Bangalore. Participated in SMVIT — no trophy but technical advice helped refine the architecture and identify critical improvements.
Hackathon · Patent Grant Option
Secured 4th position at a national hackathon — and were awarded a Patent Grant Option recognizing the innovation and originality of the solution.
Patent Grant Option Awarded
Hackathon · April 2026
NMIT hardware collaboration
Partnered with a technical team from NMIT for hardware support. Their expertise moved the first autonomous system from theoretical models to a functional, working implementation.