![\"Car](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/AI-was-the-buzzword-of-the-year-2025-and-thats-not-going-to-change-in-2026-with-AI-companies-and-AI-.webp\")
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Artificial intelligence was the buzzword of 2025, and that\u2019s not going to change in 2026 \u2013 especially when it comes to AI in cars.<\/p>\n
We\u2019re witnessing the AI-ification (we\u2019ll ask ChatGPT whether that\u2019s a real word later) of things.<\/p>\n
Sparq, for example, is a tech startup that uses artificial intelligence to simplify and streamline the automotive diagnostics process.<\/p>\n
We had a chat with Codrin Cobzaru and Daniel Nieh, founders of Sparq, and found out they\u2019ve got an interesting opinion on what the movement means for EVs.<\/p>\n
DISCOVER SBX CARS:\u00a0The global premium car auction platform powered by Supercar Blondie<\/a><\/p>\n Where did the idea come from to build an AI tool designed to help owners with their cars?<\/p>\n \u201cWhen it comes to artificial intelligence and cars, most AI companies are thinking about autonomy<\/a>,\u201d explained Nieh.<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s great, but for some reason, no one seems to be considering integrating artificial intelligence into existing tech to solve problems that we already know about.\u201d <\/p>\n He continued: \u201cWe wanted to create a diagnostic tool to streamline the process for the car owners. The idea is to become a one-stop shop for car owners.<\/p>\n \u201cYou don\u2019t need seven people to tell you what\u2019s wrong with the car: artificial intelligence can do that for you,\u201d he clarified.<\/p>\n The light-bulb moment<\/p>\n Put simply: they found a problem in their own life that there was no fun solution for.<\/p>\n \u201cMy wife and I had a problem with our car, and what was supposed to be a simple thing turned into a nightmare,\u201d Cobzaru told Supercar Blondie.<\/p>\n It wasn\u2019t because the mechanical problem was serious, but because it seemed unnecessarily complicated to resolve the issue.<\/p>\n \u201cWe realized that the industry is fragmented,\u201d Cobzaru lamented.<\/p>\n \u201cThe person who \u2018diagnoses\u2019 your car isn\u2019t necessarily the same person who\u2019s going to fix it.<\/p>\n \u201cAnd sometimes there are even more people you have to talk to to translate what that means in terms of costs,\u201d Cobzaru explained.<\/p>\n How does Sparq AI work?<\/p>\n In short, you plug in the Sparq diagnostics tool into the car (all US-spec cars built after 2008 have the port you need for that), and let it do the hard work.<\/p>\n The AI will tell you what\u2019s wrong with the car, what needs doing, and how much you can expect it to cost.<\/p>\n Despite starting out working on Android, their app only works on iOS.<\/p>\n \u201cWe want to add support for Android in the future,\u201d Nieh said.<\/p>\n \u201cBut then we transitioned to iOS because it\u2019s more standardized.<\/p>\n With Android, you have so many different versions and screen sizes. With iOS, you only have iPhones and iPads, and so creating an app that works is easier,\u201d Daniel admitted.<\/p>\n Cobzaru and Nieh further explained that only 2009 or newer cars are compatible due to a specific standard that was adopted that year.<\/p>\n \u201cBetween 2009 and 2009, the US adopted the CAN bus [controlled area network] standard, basically the internet of things for cars,\u201d Nieh added.<\/p>\n \u201cBy 2009, all new cars were fully compatible with that, and that\u2019s fully compatible with our diagnostics tool both at the hardware and software level,\u201d he concluded.<\/p>\n Why the focus on gas cars rather than EVs?<\/p>\n \u201cWe think that EVs will be a market, but they won\u2019t be \u2018the\u2019 market,\u201d Nieh prefaced.<\/p>\n But that\u2019s not the only reason why gas cars and hybrids are their key demographic.<\/p>\n \u201cOur tool is designed to identify problems with the engine. <\/p>\n \u201cIn an EV, most issues generally come from the battery pack<\/a>, which is just as important as the motor, if not more,\u201d he explained.<\/p>\n But both Nieh and Cobzaru are confident that their EV offering will grow.<\/p>\n What\u2019s next for AI applied to cars?<\/p>\n![\"AI](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/1780249699_432_AI-was-the-buzzword-of-the-year-2025-and-thats-not-going-to-change-in-2026-with-AI-companies-and-AI-.webp\")
<\/a>Ale Renesis\/Supercar Blondie<\/p>\n![\"AI](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/1780249700_306_AI-was-the-buzzword-of-the-year-2025-and-thats-not-going-to-change-in-2026-with-AI-companies-and-AI-.webp\")
<\/a>Ale Renesis\/Supercar Blondie<\/p>\n![\"AI](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/1780249700_992_AI-was-the-buzzword-of-the-year-2025-and-thats-not-going-to-change-in-2026-with-AI-companies-and-AI-.webp\")
<\/a>Ale Renesis\/Supercar Blondie<\/p>\n![\"Artificial](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/1780249701_571_AI-was-the-buzzword-of-the-year-2025-and-thats-not-going-to-change-in-2026-with-AI-companies-and-AI-.webp\")
<\/a>Ale Renesis\/Supercar Blondie<\/p>\n![\"AI](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/1780249701_567_AI-was-the-buzzword-of-the-year-2025-and-thats-not-going-to-change-in-2026-with-AI-companies-and-AI-.webp\")
<\/a>Los Angeles Auto Show<\/p>\n
![\"AI](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/1780249702_633_AI-was-the-buzzword-of-the-year-2025-and-thats-not-going-to-change-in-2026-with-AI-companies-and-AI-.webp\")
<\/a>Ale Renesis\/Supercar Blondie<\/p>\n