Toyota AI Ventures, the Silicon Valley VC set up by global auto giant Toyota Motor Corp. in 2017, is rebranding itself Toyota Ventures and getting a $300 million infusion to invest in early-stage tech startups and launch a new fund targeting companies with products and services that cut carbon emissions. The Los Altos, California-based firm, which has backed companies including eVTOL developer Joby Aviation, micromobility service Revel and autonomous shuttle operator May Mobility, is using its additional cash to expand its Frontier Fund by $150 million and launch a $150 million Climate Fund. In total, it’s now managing assets worth more than $500 million, says Jim Adler, Toyota Ventures’ managing director. While Toyota has a massive multibillion-dollar R&D budget to develop better materials, electronics, software, advanced batteries and hydrogen fuel cell systems for its cars and trucks, Toyota Ventures is on the lookout for promising, small startups with technology that could eventually be both lucrative and potentially benefit the automaker’s global operations.“One thing that we’ve learned through our Frontier Fund efforts over the last four years is that you can’t centrally plan innovation,” Adler says. “Our mission has been to discover what’s next for Toyota, by investing in these innovative disruptive startups.”Toyota Ventures won’t say how well the fund has performed overall, though “we’re really happy” with how things are going so far, according to Adler. It made money on its investment in laser lidar startup Blackmore when it was purchased by self-driving tech developer Aurora, and played a major role in Joby’s $590 million funding round in early 2020. The electric aircraft company is preparing to go public via a SPAC merger that will raise $1.6 billion when it lists on the New York Stock Exchange in the weeks ahead. The mission of the new Climate Fund is to accelerate Toyota’s carbon reduction goals “by engaging with startups that are eagerly developing carbon-neutral technologies, things like renewable energy, hydrogen production, storage, distribution, utilization, carbon capture and storage,” Adler says. Toyota Ventures is a subsidiary of Toyota Research Institute and is also adding investment staff as its funding activities grow.
All data is taken from the source: http://forbes.com
Article Link: https://www.forbes.com/sites/alanohnsman/2021/06/03/toyotas-silicon-valley-venture-arm-gets-300-million-infusion-launches-climate-fund/
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