Toyota AI Ventures on the three elements of a mobility start-up investment

Today's automotive industry is not an easily accessible market. The rapid scale up of CASE (connected, autonomous, shared, electric) development seen over the last decade might have allowed new players into the field, but it has also ramped up the entry fees at the door. A quick look at the valuation of players such as TuSimple or Nikola—US$1bn and US$3bn respectively—shows how quickly valuations can become inflated. For any new start-up looking to leverage their niche, success today is almost entirely reliant on early automotive industry investors.