Toyota Research Institute (TRI), the US-based research arm of Japan-headquartered car manufacturer Toyota, committed an initial $100m yesterday to a corporate venturing unit called Toyota AI Ventures.
The fund will target early-stage companies developing artificial intelligence, robotics, autonomous mobility, data and cloud technology, and some portfolio companies will benefit from support and mentorship at its Silicon Valley headquarters.
Toyota AI Ventures said it intends to also explore a ‘call and response’ approach that involves supporting the creation of new companies that can solve specific problems.
Jim Adler, vice-president of data and business development for TRI, will lead the unit as managing director. He said: “We realise that we don’t have all of the answers. A lot of disruptive technologies come from startups and we want to help them be successful.
“One of the biggest challenges entrepreneurs face is knowing if they are building the right product for the right market. We can help them navigate that uncertainty, and we are committed to doing so in a founder-friendly way because their success is our success.”
The unit has so far invested in three companies including Israel-based social robot developer Intuition Robotics, leading its $14m series A round, which was also announced yesterday.
Bloomberg Beta, the early-stage investment arm of media company Bloomberg, also took part in the round, as did domestic robot producer iRobot, OurCrowd, Maniv Mobility, Terra Venture Partners and undisclosed existing investors.
Intuition Robotics is working on a robot called ElliQ that is intended to provide companionship to the elderly. It had previously raised $6m across two rounds backed by Bloomberg Beta, iRobot, OurCrowd, Terra Venture Partners and Maniv Mobility.
Toyota AI Ventures’ other two portfolio companies are US-based intelligent vehicle technology developer Nauto and Slamcore, a UK-based startup working on algorithms for 3D, virtual and autonomous reality mapping, providing undisclosed amounts in both cases.
Nauto has raised $23.8m in equity and debt from investors including Playground Global and Draper Nexus Ventures in addition to an undisclosed amount from Toyota AI Ventures as well as Allianz Ventures and BMW i Ventures, subsidiaries of insurer Allianz and carmaker BMW, in October 2016.
Slamcore secured an undisclosed sum in a seed round last month that included Amadeus Capital Partners, Sparx Group and Imperial Innovations, though Toyota AI Ventures’ participation was not revealed at that time.