Jul 11, 2017 Toyota, Technology, AutonomousDriving, innovations, ArtificialIntelligence,
The Toyota Research Institute (TRI) has confirmed that it is investing an initial $US100 million to launch Toyota AI Ventures, a new corporate venture capital subsidiary designed to provide early-stage financing to start-up technology companies.TRI is launching the subsidiary with investments in three technology companies: Nauto (Silicon Valley), Intuition Robotics (Israel) and SLAMcore (Great Britian). The new Toyota AI Ventures subsidiary will also cultivate select start-ups by offering them mentorship and support on-site at TRI's Silicon Valley headquarters.Investment will focus on artificial intelligence, robotics, autonomous mobility and data and cloud technology. Toyota AI Ventures will offer TRI the opportunity to collaborate with talented entrepreneurs who prefer to work in a venture business environment."Toyota has a history of disruptive innovation in the service of mankind, moving from textile machinery to automobiles in the late 30's, to the broad electrification of the automobile with Prius in the 90's, to autonomous mobility and human assist robots," said Dr Gill Pratt, CEO of TRI."TRI is growing quickly, and we recognise the critical importance of expanding our collaboration with the world's brightest entrepreneurial talent. This venture is a major step towards our mission to empower talented entrepreneurs who share Toyota's commitment to enhancing the quality of human life."Unlike venture capital funds that exclusively identify investment targets by considering unsolicited pitches by entrepreneurs, this new venture will also pursue a "call and response" model, identifying key research challenges and then supporting the creation of new companies offering to solve them.SLAMcore, based in London, is a team of experts in visual tracking and mapping systems, more commonly referred to as Simultaneous Localisation and Mapping (SLAM). It develops advanced algorithms designed to help technology platforms like autonomous cars, drones and augmented/virtual reality systems to simultaneously build a map of their surroundings and position themselves within it. Critically, SLAMcore approaches this challenge with a core focus on power efficiency, a crucial factor for autonomous mobility applications given the need to maximize the power available for locomotion. TRI participated in SLAMcore's seed financing in March 2017.Based in Silicon Valley, Nauto provides a technology system, designed for professional drivers and fleet managers, that monitors drivers and the road environment to prevent collisions, improve driver behaviour, and learn from the diverse data shared across its smart cloud network. The Nauto device is packed with AI-powered sensors and mounted inside a vehicle's windscreen, where it provides powerful visual context inside and outside the vehicle and collects data that can provide meaningful insights. TRI participated in Nauto's $12 million Series A financing in August 2016.
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