From building robots and engineering systems during their college years to developing customised industrial automation and testing solutions, Exeliq Tech Solutions has charted a journey driven by innovation and a problem-solving approach. In this interview with Machine Edge Global, Rahul Gautam, Co-Founder of Exeliq Tech Solutions, discusses the company’s evolution, the growing role of Industry 4.0 in manufacturing, advancements in EV testing and validation, and the importance of data-driven automation. He also shares his perspective on the opportunities for Indian engineering companies to develop indigenous technologies and expand their presence in global markets.
What inspired you to co found Exeliq Tech Solutions, and what gap in the industrial automation and testing ecosystem did you aim to address?
The story of Exeliq Tech Solutions started much before the company was incorporated. All the founders came from the same college, where we worked together on engineering projects, including robots, race cars and other systems, and represented our college at national platforms. What began as college projects gradually became a shared passion for building real engineering solutions.
As graduation approached, we decided to take that passion beyond college and turn it into something commercially meaningful. We knew very little about the market, but instead of waiting until we had all the answers, we decided to learn by doing.
We graduated in July and registered Exeliq in September, with our first small project already in hand. As we interacted with industries, we identified a clear gap. Companies needed customised testing and automation solutions tailored to their products and manufacturing processes, while many available solutions were standardised, expensive, imported or difficult to adapt.
We saw an opportunity to bridge this gap by combining engineering, hardware, software, instrumentation and automation capabilities to build application specific test and measurement systems that solve real shop floor problems.
How has the company evolved since its inception?
When we started Exeliq, our motto was, “You say, we do, with a smile.” Whatever requirement came to us, we tried to take it up. Sometimes we knew how to solve it; sometimes we had to learn an entirely new technology and build the solution around it.
That phase taught us to learn quickly, adapt to unfamiliar problems and approach engineering challenges from an application perspective.
A major turning point came when Prince, Ashu and Rishabh, who were Certified LabVIEW Associate Developers, became Certified LabVIEW Developers. This strengthened our capabilities and helped establish LabVIEW as one of our core platforms.
Over time, we developed specialised teams, reusable architectures, stronger engineering processes and expertise across test and measurement, automation, control, LabVIEW and IT OT integration.
Our evolution became particularly rapid after 2019. Earlier, our approach was, “Give us the problem, we will learn what is required and solve it.” Today, we have a much deeper pool of technology, experience and domain knowledge. What remains unchanged is our willingness to take on difficult engineering problems.
How is Industry 4.0 changing the way Indian manufacturers approach automation, testing and control systems?
When we started, manufacturers primarily wanted economical and reliable automation or testing solutions. In many testing applications, the requirement was simply a pass or fail result.
Today, customers increasingly want detailed data from machines, production processes and testing systems, including test parameters, trends, alarms, traceability and historical records.
Manufacturers are recognising that this data can support product improvement, process optimisation, predictive maintenance, quality analysis and, increasingly, AI and machine learning.
The conversation has therefore shifted from, “How do we automate this process?” to, “How do we automate it, capture meaningful data, connect it with the factory and use that information to make better decisions?”
What are the biggest challenges in moving from conventional automation to smart, connected and data driven solutions?
One major challenge is technology acceptance. Manufacturers are comfortable with conventional systems because they are familiar and proven. Moving to connected and data driven solutions requires a change in mindset across management and shop floor teams.
Another challenge is understanding the scale, investment and expected return. Customers may understand Industry 4.0 conceptually but are often unsure where to start.
Existing IT and OT infrastructure can also be a constraint because smart manufacturing requires connectivity, networking, cybersecurity, data storage and integration.
Finally, defining the right use case is critical. Customers may say they want to “implement Industry 4.0” without a clear objective. Our role is to identify whether the actual requirement is traceability, energy monitoring, predictive maintenance, production visibility, quality improvement or machine connectivity. Once the objective is clear, the technology roadmap becomes much easier to define.
What role do advanced testing and validation systems play in accelerating EV development?
Advanced testing and validation are the backbone of the EV ecosystem. Whether it is a battery pack, charger, motor controller, inverter or complete vehicle, customers need confidence that the product is safe, reliable and consistent throughout its expected life.
Testing enables manufacturers to validate products across different temperatures, loads, charging and discharging cycles, fault conditions and real world scenarios. Automated testing also helps identify failures earlier, compare designs, optimise performance and reduce development iterations.
Safety is particularly important because EV systems involve high voltage batteries, high currents and power electronics. Proper validation helps identify weaknesses under both normal and extreme conditions.
There is also a strong Atmanirbhar Bharat opportunity. If India wants to design and manufacture EV technology, it also needs the capability to test and validate it domestically. Indigenous testing capabilities can reduce dependence on imported systems and help Indian companies innovate faster.
The data generated through testing can further support battery optimisation, thermal management, charging strategies, degradation analysis and future AI based models. Ultimately, EV adoption depends on confidence in the technology, and that confidence is built through rigorous testing and validation.
How do your test and measurement solutions improve reliability while reducing development time and operational risks?
Our systems go beyond what can be identified through manual inspection or conventional testing. They can monitor multiple parameters simultaneously, capture detailed data, identify trends and detect patterns that may otherwise be missed.
Automated Test Equipment can significantly reduce testing time by executing multiple test cases in a controlled and repeatable manner. Processes that once took days or weeks can, depending on the application, be reduced substantially.
Automation also improves repeatability and traceability. Test results, parameters, timestamps and failure conditions can be recorded, helping engineers understand why and under what conditions a product failed.
Interlocks, limit checks, alarms and fail safe conditions further reduce operational risk and protect both the product and testing infrastructure.
Our objective is therefore not simply to automate a test, but to give engineering teams better visibility so they can identify problems faster, validate improvements and develop reliable products with greater confidence.
How important is customisation when designing automation and testing solutions?
Customisation is extremely important because every manufacturer and R&D organisation is trying to build a better, different or more competitive product. A standard testing solution does not always fit these requirements.
We customise hardware architecture, instrumentation, test sequences, software, communication protocols, data acquisition, reporting and system integration according to the application.
However, customisation does not mean simply building exactly what is requested. Through discussions, we often identify more efficient, scalable or technically better ways of achieving the same objective and guide customers accordingly.
Our aim is to understand what makes the customer’s product or process unique and build the solution around that uniqueness.
How is Exeliq helping businesses turn machine and test data into actionable insights?
Our focus is not simply on collecting data, but on creating visibility from it. Thousands of raw data points are useful only when they are structured and contextualised for decision making.
Along with data acquisition and real time monitoring, we build dashboards and visualisation systems that highlight trends, performance indicators, alarms, deviations and historical comparisons.
These systems can help engineering teams identify patterns, quality teams investigate failures, production teams understand bottlenecks and management monitor overall performance.
We also design dashboards around the user. A machine operator, R&D engineer and plant head may use the same underlying data but require very different insights.
The objective is to help customers extract the essence of their data and use it to make faster and better decisions.
What opportunities do you see for Indian automation and control engineering companies in global markets?
We see a strong opportunity for Indian automation, control engineering and test and measurement companies in global markets.
Indian engineering teams have developed strong capabilities in working quickly, adapting to complex requirements and delivering customised, cost effective solutions. That agility can be a significant advantage internationally.
As global companies diversify supply chains and seek new engineering and manufacturing partners, Indian companies have an opportunity to move beyond services and design products, build testing platforms, develop automation systems and export complete engineering solutions.
The coming years could therefore be an important period for Indian test and measurement, automation and control companies, provided they continue investing in technology, quality, R&D and global standards.
For Exeliq, this opportunity is closely aligned with the vision of Atmanirbhar Bharat: strengthening India’s technological self reliance while taking Indian engineering solutions to global markets.