Toyota AI Ventures: $ 200 million for startups

I deen and solutions for new technologies and services often arise in small start-ups and young companies. Large corporations often get creative forges on board by purchasing cooperations. Established companies benefit from the fresh way of thinking, the start-ups are happy about capital to realize their plans.

The Japanese car maker Toyota is also in business with its own equity investment company called Toyota AI Venture . Since July 2019, the Japanese have reportedly invested in 19 start-ups, mostly in the fields of robotics and autonomous driving. In order to be close to possible cooperation partners, Toyota AI Venture has set up its office in Silicon Valley in the US state of California.

Capital doubled to 200 million US dollars

For further investments A second fund has now been launched, which doubles the capital managed by Toyota AI Venture to US $ 200 million (approximately 179 million euros).

'Automobile manufacturers must participate in the start-up ecosystem in order to drive the rapid To be able to keep up with developments within the industry, ”explains Jim Adler, Managing Director of Toyota AI Ventures. “Investing in start-ups creates long-term relationships that help Toyota discover the latest innovations in mobility.”

On the radar of the holding company, start-ups are in the early phase after they are founded deal with cloud technologies and artificial intelligence. The investments are intended to help Toyota with the development of car models and service packages for self-driving shuttle services and also to advance robotics applications in production.