[AutonomousVehicles] Toyota Buys Self Driving Car Tech Company

[Cornelius Butler]

Hi Everyone,
Toyota is rapidly expanding its self driving vehicle division by purchasing
a company that makes self driving vehicle technology. Article link and text
is below.

Article Link:
https://www.reuters.com/technology/toyota-buys-software-firm-renovo-accelerate-self-driving-tech-development-2021-09-28/

Article Text:


Toyota buys software firm Renovo to accelerate self-driving tech development
By Tim Kelly

TOKYO, Sept 28 (Reuters) - Toyota Motor Corp's (7203.T) Silicon Valley
research arm on Thursday said it had acquired automotive operating system
software company Renovo to help accelerate the development of
fully-autonomous connected vehicles.

"I am hoping to shave off years and months to our minimum viable product
launches," James Kuffner, the head of Toyota's Woven Planet subsidiary said
during a press briefing.

A longer term goal is to design software and operating systems that other
automakers would also use, the former Google robot engineer added.

Toyota is in a technological race with other established car companies and
newer rivals, such as Tesla Inc (TSLA.O) and Amazon (AMZN.O), to build cars
that can operate without drivers and share data within connected networks.
While some driverless vehicles are already available, their autonomous
functions are mostly limited to parking and driving on expressways.


TOKYO, Sept 28 (Reuters) - Toyota Motor Corp's (7203.T) Silicon Valley
research arm on Thursday said it had acquired automotive operating system
software company Renovo to help accelerate the development of
fully-autonomous connected vehicles.

"I am hoping to shave off years and months to our minimum viable product
launches," James Kuffner, the head of Toyota's Woven Planet subsidiary said
during a press briefing.

A longer term goal is to design software and operating systems that other
automakers would also use, the former Google robot engineer added.

Toyota is in a technological race with other established car companies and
newer rivals, such as Tesla Inc (TSLA.O) and Amazon (AMZN.O), to build cars
that can operate without drivers and share data within connected networks.
While some driverless vehicles are already available, their autonomous
functions are mostly limited to parking and driving on expressways.


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U.S.-based Renovo has designed an operating systems for cars that manages
vehicle systems and can sort and filter information for sharing, including
data that can help carmakers improve vehicle design.

The latest acquisition by Woven Planet comes after it purchased Carmera in
August, a U.S. firm that provides real-time, high-definition maps and data
for driverless vehicles.

Toyota established Woven Planet in January to invest in and develop
mobility with artificial intelligence.

Japan's leading carmaker is also building Woven City, a "city of the
future" at the foot of Mount Fuji in Japan, a community Toyota says will
use hydrogen fuel cells for power and be a laboratory for autonomous cars.

Earlier this year, Toyota also bought ride-hailing service Lyft Inc's
(LYFT.O) self-driving technology unit for $550 million, and invested in
Ridecell which provides automation for fleet businesses.

Other self-driving partnerships include a joint venture with SoftBank Corp
(9434.T) and stakes in China's Didi Global Inc (DIDI.N) and Singapore's
Grab.

Reporting by Tim Kelly; Editing by Ana Nicolaci da Costa
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
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