Caterpillar empowers India’s next-gen innovators through Tech Challenge 2025

As a 100-year-old company, Caterpillar has a history of leading the industry with innovation. The journey continues today and into the future. While the products, services and solutions may look different from those a century ago, the commitment to innovation has never changed. As part of this ongoing commitment, Caterpillar launched the Tech Challenge 2025 — a platform for the next generation of problem solvers to showcase their innovative thinking.

The challenge, which kicked off in February, culminated in 38 teams of bold, young innovators from colleges across India facing off in an exciting two-day grand finale—held at the Caterpillar R&D facility in Chennai on June 20 and the manufacturing facility in Tiruvallur on June 23. Emerging as winners across three key problem statements were: PSG Institute of Technology and Applied Research for their innovative solution in Real-Time Monocular Depth Estimation on Edge AI, PSG College of Technology for developing a Vision System to Identify and Display Defects on Components and Indian Institute of Technology Madras for designing an innovative Diesel Exhaust Fluid (DEF) Tank with Mechanism to Measure DEF Quality and Control DEF Filling.

The runner-up titles were received by Vellore Institute of Technology, College of Engineering, Guindy, and Chennai Institute of Technology, respectively. Jury special mentions were awarded to PSG Institute of Technology and Applied Research and Sri Sivasubramaniya Nadar College of Engineering for their noteworthy ideas and execution.

Held over five months, the event welcomed over 13,000 participants from across 600+ colleges nationwide, providing students a one-of-a-kind opportunity to gain valuable real-world experience, mentorship from industry experts and a chance to build lasting relationships as they shape their futures.

The challenge also highlighted Caterpillar’s ongoing commitment to innovation, excellence, and investing in local talent.

Students engaged in presenting prototypes to real-life challenges, pushing the boundaries of innovative thinking. Of over 4,000 teams registered, 185 teams qualified for Round 1; 70 for semi-finals, and 38 for the grand finale.

Highlighting the importance of this event, Bhuvan Anandakrishnan, India Country Manager and VP of the ICS Engineering Division, Caterpillar said, “India is emerging as a knowledge-driven economy with young people aspiring to build a career in STEM. Recognizing their potential, we as a company, have been collaborating with prestigious institutions to tap into India’s rich pool of engineering talent.

We have over 4,500 engineers currently working at our R&D centers in Chennai and Bangalore, offering diverse engineering expertise – mechanical, hydraulics, electronics, software, autonomy, and more. Our expansive footprint today comprises the company’s second-largest concentration of engineers worldwide.”

Our heartfelt congratulations to all the winners and the participants. We look forward to supporting our emerging talent in building a better, more sustainable world.

For more details visit: www.caterpillar.com/india