Used car platform Cars24 has reported a significant shift in its operational model, pivoting from a traditional marketplace to an AI-native operating company.
According to the company, this restructuring is now yielding tangible financial and operational results, culminating in the announcement of a major upcoming recruitment and engineering event dubbed “Token ’26.”
Cars24 has bolstered these capabilities through strategic partnerships. It has embedded OpenAI models across its consumer, partner, and employee-facing systems, and recently launched a vehicle discovery app on the ChatGPT Store. Cloud infrastructure is supported by Amazon Web Services (AWS).
Token ’26: An Individual-Focused AI Hackathon
To fuel its continued AI integration, Cars24 has announced Token ’26, an intensive, 72-hour hackathon scheduled for May 28–30, 2026, in New Delhi. The event will bring together 50 shortlisted AI engineers to solve production-ready problems based on Cars24’s live operations, including AI-driven pricing, risk assessment, and vehicle inspections.
The event structure notably breaks from traditional team-based hackathons:
- Format: Strict individual accountability with no teams permitted.
- Eligibility: Participants must have a minimum of one year of hands-on shipping experience.
- Prize: A winner-takes-all prize of ₹20,00,000, with no split or secondary prizes.
- Resources: Participants will receive access to frontier models via OpenAI, voice AI infrastructure from ElevenLabs, AWS cloud compute credits, and mentorship from Cars24’s AI leadership.
Applications for Token ’26 are currently open at token.cars24.com as the final shortlist is being prepared ahead of the May 28 launch.
Regarding this, Vikram Chopra, Founder & CEO, Cars24, said:
We have spent the last year rebuilding significant parts of how this company operates. AI is not a tool we give to teams — it is the operating model. The results are showing: revenue per employee is up 50%, and we’re only at the beginning. Token ’26 is about finding the engineers who want to build what comes next — people who understand that the companies that win this decade will not be the ones that adopted AI, but the ones that were rebuilt around it. That is what we are doing at Cars24, and that is who we want in the room.