Toyota Motor Corp. and Nippon Telegraph and Telephone (NTT) have unveiled a collaborative effort to channel a substantial investment of 500 billion yen ($3.27 billion) by the year 2030 towards the creation of an infrastructure and software platform leveraging artificial intelligence. This joint venture intends to tackle the pressing issue of reducing traffic accidents through the development of a mobility AI platform that will harness extensive datasets to bolster driver assist technology, with the aspiration of having the system operational by 2028.
The landscape of the autonomous driving market has been evolving rapidly, with Japanese automakers like Toyota facing mounting pressure to enhance their endeavors in this space, especially with the notable presence of Tesla and Chinese companies. Toyota and NTT are aligning their strategies to address this challenge by aiming to create a platform that can mitigate accidents stemming from poor visibility in urban settings, facilitate automated driving services, and streamline merging on expressways. By extending the availability of this system to other industry stakeholders, governmental bodies, and academic collaborators who share the vision of reducing traffic accidents to zero, the collaboration sets its sights on achieving widespread adoption of the technology from 2030 onward.
The partnership between Toyota and NTT traces back to their initial collaboration in 2017, when they joined forces to pioneer technologies for 5G-connected vehicles, culminating in a capital tie-up as part of a smart city initiative in 2020. Notably, NTT disclosed plans in November last year to conduct trials of driverless vehicle technology in conjunction with Toyota as soon as 2025, alongside investments in a U.S.-based startup dedicated to advancing self-driving systems. In a bid to further bolster their commitment to autonomous driving technology, Toyota established a specialized unit in 2021 focused on investing in and cultivating mobility solutions powered by AI.
Under the umbrella of this dedicated unit, now operating as Woven by Toyota, the company is concurrently developing an automotive software platform named Arene and constructing a testing hub named Woven City in Shizuoka Prefecture, located to the west of Tokyo. The Woven City facility is envisioned as a testing ground for various mobility-related systems and services, encapsulating Toyota's strategic vision towards advancing the integration of AI in the realm of transportation and urban mobility.