Burgess COMMENTARY

Peter Burgess

Toyota’s $1 Billion Artificial Intelligence, Robotics R&D ‘New Company’ Investment

Toyota plans a major push into artificial intelligence and robotics technology research and will invest $1 billion over the next five years to establish a Silicon Valley research and development center to pursue those goals. By 24/7 Staff

At a press conference today, Toyota Motor Corporation announced it will establish a new company, Toyota Research Institute Inc. (TRI), as an R&D enterprise with an initial focus on artificial intelligence and robotics.

The headquarters will be located in Silicon Valley near Stanford University in Palo Alto, California, U.S.A.

A second facility will be located near the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in Cambridge, Massachusetts, U.S.A.

The new company will begin operations in January 2016.

Toyota believes artificial intelligence has significant potential to support future industrial technologies and the creation of an entirely new industry.

To underscore this belief, it is making an initial investment of $1 billion over the next five years, to establish and staff the two initial locations and conduct operations.

The investment is in addition to the $50 million investment over the next five years with MIT and Stanford to establish joint fundamental artificial intelligence research centers at each university.

Toyota Commits $50M to Research AI for Autonomous Vehicles and “Future Mobility”

Palo Alto, California, U.S.A.- September 4, 2015 - The research and development of intelligent vehicle and mobility technologies will get a major boost in an ambitious new collaboration between Toyota, MIT and Stanford. Toyota Motor Corporation (TMC) announced that it will be investing approximately $50 million over the next 5 years to establish joint research centers at each university. Additionally Dr. Gill Pratt, former Program Manager at DARPA (the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency) and leader of its recent Robotics Challenge, has joined Toyota to direct and accelerate these research activities and their application to intelligent vehicles and robotics.

TRI will help bridge the gap between fundamental research and product development. Its primary mission is to accelerate R&D in a range of fields to help resolve society’s future challenges by using artificial intelligence and big data. Thereby, contributing to a sustainable future where everyone can experience a safer, freer, and unconstrained life.

Directed by Dr. Gill Pratt, Toyota’s Executive Technical Adviser and the Chief Executive Officer of the new enterprise, TRI will hire leading researchers and engineers to support its wide range of activities.

Dr. Pratt said, “Our initial goals are to: 1) improve safety by continuously decreasing the likelihood that a car will be involved in an accident; 2) make driving accessible to everyone, regardless of ability; and 3) apply Toyota technology used for outdoor mobility to indoor environments, particularly for the support of seniors. We also plan to apply our work more broadly, for example to improve production efficiency and accelerate scientific discovery in materials.”

Akio Toyoda, President of Toyota Motor Corporation, said, “As technology continues to progress, so does our ability to improve products. At Toyota, we do not pursue innovation simply because we can; we pursue it because we should. It is our responsibility to make life better for our customers, and society as a whole. I want to work with Gill, not just because he is a great researcher, but because I believe that his goals and motivations are the same as ours.”

TRI Outline
Name: Toyota Research Institute, Inc.
Headquarters: Palo Alto, California, United States of America
Date of Establishment: January 2016
Business: Advanced research and product planning with an initial focus on artificial intelligence and robotics
Initial Investment: $1 billion/5 yr.
Number of employees: Approximately 200 (plan)