Toyota AI Ventures, a Silicon Valley-based venture capital firm dedicated to helping discover what’s next for Toyota, launched a global “call for innovation” today at CES® 2020 to find and fund early-stage startups building solutions for smart and connected cities. The call invites qualified entrepreneurs from around the world to apply for an opportunity to receive between $500,000 and $2 million in funding from Toyota AI Ventures.
Toyota AI Ventures will partner with Toyota Research Institute – Advanced Development (TRI-AD) and Toyota Research Institute (TRI) to identify opportunities for startups to collaborate. Headquartered in Tokyo, Japan, TRI-AD is part of Toyota’s newly announced Woven City, a state-of-the-art connected city being built on the site of the Higashi-Fuji plant in Susono, Japan. The Woven City will serve as a test bed for innovative ideas and technologies from Toyota and its partners.
“Over half of the world’s population lives in urban areas today, and that trend is expected to increase in coming decades,” said Jim Adler, founding managing director of Toyota AI Ventures. “As cities become more populated and dense, technology has a key role to play in addressing challenges like congestion, housing shortages, and pollution. We see cities as a platform for innovation, and we’re searching for startups building real-world, scalable solutions to improve the quality of life in urban communities, now and in the future.”
“TRI-AD is very excited to collaborate with Toyota AI Ventures on this new smart and connected cities call for innovation,” said Dr. James Kuffner, Chief Executive Officer of TRI-AD and Senior Fellow of Toyota Motor Corporation. “The livability and sustainability of our planet’s future urban centers will require many forms of new technology to be developed, and Toyota intends to work with partners to realize President Toyoda’s vision for Woven City.”
Toyota AI Ventures will exhibit about the call for innovation at CES 2020 from January 7-10, 2020 as part of its participation in Toyota’s booth in the Las Vegas Convention Center North Hall, Booth #6919. Toyota AI Ventures’ exhibit will also feature three of its portfolio companies: Intuition Robotics, May Mobility, and Perceptive Automata.
The call for innovation is available to startups in the areas of artificial intelligence, cloud, data, autonomy, mobility, and robotics that have: (1) raised less than $3 million in funding; (2) can demonstrate a working prototype; and (3) have a viable business model for applying their solution to smart, connected cities and delivering real value to customers.
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SOURCE: Toyota
