By Nucleus_ai
When Ankit Acharya and Pranjal Nadhani co-founded Cautio in October 2023, their goal was deeply personal: to make Indian roads safer. The duo had witnessed too many incidents鈥攔eckless drivers, legal headaches, and anxious families waiting for safety updates, that could have been prevented with the right tools.
“We started Cautio because India deserves safer roads,” says Ankit. “It shouldn鈥檛 take a tragedy to act on safety.” Their solution: AI-powered, connected dashcams designed not just to record accidents, but to prevent them.
What Cautio Does and Why It Matters
At its core, Cautio combines rugged hardware with intelligent software. Its dashcams detect fatigue, harsh driving, and potential incidents in real-time, alerting fleet operators and protecting drivers with video evidence when needed.
Unlike global competitors such as Samsara and Netradyne, Cautio builds specifically for Indian roads. Its devices are cost-effective, durable, and supported with local service鈥攁 crucial differentiator in a market where trust is often broken by unreliable tech.
Who鈥檚 Behind Cautio?
Ankit Acharya earlier held leadership roles at Namma Yatri, Bounce Infinity, and Backstage Army. An alumnus of NIFT Bangalore, he leads business, fundraising, and operations.
Pranjal Nadhani, a software engineer by training, has led frontend engineering at Virtualness and worked with Dream11 and Urban Company. At Cautio, he oversees technology and finance.
Their lean team structure fosters fast execution and deep ownership across business, tech, operations, and support. When hiring, they prioritise builders who are customer-obsessed, quality-driven, and mission-aligned.
Cracking the Market with Purpose
India has over 80 million commercial vehicles, yet road safety remains largely reactive. Cautio鈥檚 connected dashcams target school transport, intercity buses, logistics, and staff transport sectors where safety directly impacts lives and livelihoods.
Through a mix of direct sales, partnerships, and pilot programs, Cautio has expanded to 45+ cities, safeguarding lakhs of trips with its dashcam technology. Its retention strategy hinges on consistent delivery and a deeply driver-first approach.
For aspiring founders, Pranjal offers clear advice: listen closely, earn trust before scaling, and be patient as progress compounds. “You won鈥檛 have it all figured out,” he says. “Start, stay curious, and let the journey teach you.”
Fuel, Fame & Future Plans
Cautio operates on a recurring revenue model鈥攕elling dashcams bundled with a SaaS subscription for analytics, alerts, and monitoring. This aligns incentives with customers who seek both efficiency and safety.
Backed by leading investors like Antler, 8i, 9Unicorns, and the founders of Cars24, the startup is poised for national and global growth. Recognised by Inc42 and honoured at Startup Mahakumbh, it continues to strengthen its industry credibility.
Soon, Cautio plans to scale across tens of thousands of vehicles in India. Long-term, the founders envision a global footprint, expanding their preventive safety technology into other emerging markets and exploring new product lines in in-cabin safety and fleet efficiency.
The Real Challenge: Building Trust
Cautio鈥檚 biggest obstacle wasn鈥檛 tech鈥攊t was trust. “We had to prove ourselves one install at a time, often at 3 AM in depot yards,” Ankit recalls. “Each functioning camera, each timely alert, built our credibility.”
Their approach鈥攍istening first, acting reliably, and staying present鈥攈as earned them the trust of fleets and drivers alike.