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Toyota buys a mapping and road data company in the United States to beef up its self-driving technology.
A Toyota logo is exhibited at the 89th Geneva International Motor Show on March 5, 2019 in Geneva, Switzerland. Denis Balibouse/File Photo/REUTERS
By Reuters, 15 July 2021
Toyota Motor Corp.’s research arm announced on Thursday that it had bought Carmera, a provider of maps and data for self-driving cars based in the United States, marking the Japanese automaker’s latest foray into autonomous technology.
The purchase, made through Toyota’s newly formed company Woven Planet for an unknown fee, underscores Toyota’s attempt to beef up its self-driving arsenal as traditional automakers vie with digital titans such as Apple and Amazon’s autonomous ambitions.
Toyota will gain access to real-time, high-definition maps and crowdsourcing inputs, which are critical for autonomous vehicles to identify and navigate themselves, according to a statement from the firms.
Since 2018, the two companies have worked together on initiatives including as technology that accurately refreshes repainted lane markings on high-definition maps.
In an interview with Reuters on Wednesday, Woven Planet CEO James Kuffner said, “It’s extremely well linked with our global expansion as a company.”
Woven Planet was founded in January with the goal of investing in and developing artificial intelligence mobility. It is constructing Woven Metropolis, a prototype “future city” powered by hydrogen fuel cells that will serve as a test bed for self-driving automobiles, at the foot of Mount Fuji.
With the acquisition, Woven Planet plans to develop and market an open map platform to original equipment manufacturers and automakers looking for precise and up-to-date data, according to Kuffner.
“With Carmera, we’re just getting started. We’ll keep accelerating… and search for strategic alliances or acquisitions,” Kuffner said, adding that he hoped to “double or quadruple” Woven Planet’s size in the next several years through organic growth and acquisitions.
Toyota purchased a ride-hailing service earlier this year. Lyft Inc’s self-driving technology section was purchased for $550 million, and Ridecell, a fleet automation company, was invested in.
Other self-driving agreements for the Japanese company include a joint venture with SoftBank Corp, investments in China’s Didi Global Inc and Singapore’s Grab, and a consortium with General Motors Co, suppliers, and chipmakers.
Toyota has increasingly coupled its storied manufacturing method with more recent acquisitions of startups and Silicon Valley know-how to produce the next generation of automobiles as it moves into new and non-traditional car manufacture, such as driverless and electric technologies.
“There’s a lot of uncertainty in the automobile industry right now,” Kuffner added.
“But the only certainty I have is that it will look drastically different in 10 or 30 years. The only thing we can do is try to build the future through investment… take the revenues from Toyota’s current business and invest them in the future, to build the Toyota Group’s future.”
The majority of automakers, including Toyota, provide Level 2 automation, in which the car steers and accelerates but the driver must be ready to take control, and experts believe fully self-driving cars are years away.
Nonetheless, Tesla Inc CEO Elon Musk stated earlier this month that a beta version of the company’s technology that allows for completely autonomous driving without the need for a driver will be available in “a month or so.”
Earlier this year, Toyota rival GM unveiled a completely autonomous all-electric flying Cadillac concept vehicle.
Reuters
Toyota Motor Corporation (Toyota)
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