Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 10.23
June 04, 2021
Toyota Motor Corp.'s first standalone, early-stage venture capital firm, Toyota AI Ventures, yesterday said it will change its name to Toyota Ventures and grow its total assets under management to more than $500 million. The addition of two $150 million early-stage funds—the Toyota Ventures Frontier Fund and the Toyota Ventures Climate Fund—reflect its commitment to partnering with entrepreneurs and innovators, as well as its support of environmental sustainability, said the company. “Startups are tackling the world's challenges, and at Toyota Ventures we want to open even more paths to investing in them,” stated Jim Adler, founding managing director of Toyota…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 10.14
August 07, 2023
…taxicabs are advancing worldwide, particularly in Asia. Last week, Pony.ai Inc. held a joint venture signing ceremony today with Toyota Motor (China) Investment Co. and GAC Toyota Motor Co. The three parties said they will work together toward mass production and large-scale deployment of fully self-driving robotaxis. Founded in 2016, Pony.ai said its goal is “to bring safe, sustainable, and accessible mobility to the entire world.” The Fremont, Calif.-based company, which raised Series D funding last year, has been rapidly extending its autonomous vehicle technologies at multiple sites. Pony.ai said its systems have driven more than 24 million km (14.9…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 8.72
March 18, 2022
Toyota Ventures yesterday launched its third global “call for innovation” to search for early-stage companies that can help make the “factory of the future” a reality sooner. Qualified entrepreneurs can apply for an opportunity to receive between $500,000 and $2 million in funding from Toyota Ventures. “We take a founder-first approach to investing, partnering with entrepreneurs to help them bring disruptive technologies and business models to market more quickly,” said Jim Adler, founding managing director of Toyota Ventures. “With the 2022 call for innovation, we are looking to support talented startup teams that are developing smarter and more sustainable factories…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 4.40
May 06, 2022
…partner in the quest for self-driving cars and trucks. Apex.AI Inc. yesterday announced that Daimler Truck AG has made a strategic investment in the company. It did not specify the monetary value. “This strategic investment from Daimler Truck demonstrates its forward-thinking nature by ensuring that our scalable applications continue to drive software-defined vehicle development for the entire industry,” stated Jan Becker, co-founder and CEO of Apex.AI. “Our powerful solutions are purposely designed with simplicity in mind. That’s the approach that’s changing the way companies in a wide range of industries develop their future vehicle technologies.” Palo Alto, Calif.-based Apex.AI also…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 2.99
March 25, 2024
…announced a $3.5M Seed+ fundraising round led by Cybernetix Ventures and KST Invest GmbH, with participation from Yamaha Motor Ventures and Digital Media Professionals (DMP). Cambrian said this investment will propel its AI platform, enabling industrial robot arms to perform vision-based tasks across a variety of industries. “We are incredibly excited about the possibilities that our recent fundraising opens up,” said Miika Satori, CEO of Cambrian Robotics. “Our primary goals are to enhance the scalability of the product and strengthen our sales and operations in our main target markets. In addition, we are bringing new AI-vision-based skills to robot arms,…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 2.65
December 14, 2021
Apex.AI Inc., which has developed safety-certified software for mobility and autonomous applications, today said it has raised $56.5 million in Series B funding. The company said it plans to use the financing to scale up globally and expand into new markets. “Disruptions in mobility such as self-driving, connected vehicles, e-mobility, and shared mobility all rely on software but lack a unified platform, which prevents integrated development across the vehicle,” stated Jan Becker, co-founder and CEO of Apex.AI. “We introduced Apex.OS as the first mobility software platform that can integrate across all in-vehicle domains and extend into the cloud to solve…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 2.56
November 20, 2024
Cambridge, Mass. based Pickle Robot, a developer of “Physical AI” delivering robotic automation systems that unload trucks, announced it has raised $50 million in Series B funding with participation from a strategic customer, Teradyne Robotics Ventures, Toyota Ventures, Ranpak, Third Kind Venture Capital, One Madison Group, Hyperplane, Catapult Ventures and others. Additionally, Pickle announced that it received orders from six customers in the third quarter of 2024 for over 30 production robots. The company expects these robots to deploy in the first half of 2025. Funding will be used on current, new technology The new orders include pilot conversions, existing…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 2.22
August 29, 2023
…community, but we’ve also seen the positive results our AI and technology have on the older adult population,” stated Dor Skuler, co-founder and CEO of Intuition Robotics. “Beyond the groundbreaking results in reducing loneliness—ElliQ is also seeing an impact on health, wellness, and behavior change.” Founded in 2016, Intuition Robotics said it designed ElliQ to proactively help keep users healthy, engaged, and informed, while alleviating the effects of social isolation. The Ramat Gan, Israel-based company has been recognized for its work with ElliQ, including with Fast Company’s “Most Innovative Companies” and the CES “Best of Innovation” awards. ElliQ addresses loneliness…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 2.03
May 19, 2021
Third Wave Automation Inc. and Toyota Industries Corp. today announced a strategic partnership to produce the next generation of intelligent, fully autonomous material handling vehicles. The global materials handling equipment market will expand from $211.8 billion (U.S.) in 2019 to $320.9 billion by 2027, at a compound annual growth rate of 5.4%, predicted Fortune Business Insights. It cited the rapid growth of e-commerce, with consumer spending at nearly $3.5 trillion in 2019 and a year-over-year growth rate of 17.9%. Businesses are turning to automation to meet this demand while keeping production and logistics costs down. “Our strategic development efforts with…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 1.45
April 27, 2021
Woven Planet Holdings Inc., a subsidiary of Toyota Motor Corp., said yesterday that it has agreed to acquire Level 5, the self-driving division of ride-hailing company Lyft Inc. This marks the first major deal for the newly established Woven Planet and continuing consolidation in the autonomous vehicle space. Woven Planet Group launched in January 2021 as an expansion of the operations of Toyota Research Institute - Advanced Development Inc. (TRI-AD) with the motto of “Mobility to Love, Safety to Live.” It includes four companies in support of connected and autonomous vehicles, robotics, smart cities, and more. Woven Planet Holdings Inc.…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 1.44
June 03, 2021
…Capital Management, as well as new institutional investors Soundproof Ventures and Heroic Ventures. They joined existing investors SPARX Asset Management, Omron Ventures, Toyota AI Ventures, Scrum Ventures, and Duke Angels “This investment by some of the world’s leading manufacturers and automation providers stands as a testament to our ability to dramatically improve the value proposition for robotic implementations,” stated Peter Howard, CEO of Realtime Robotics. “Having already realized early deployment success, a broad spectrum of customers and partners are working closely with us to refine features and user experiences, readying our technology for rollouts in their engineering, factory and warehouse…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 1.31
June 05, 2023
…to partner with Intuition Robotics and incorporate the groundbreaking AI technology of ElliQ,” she added. “This device does not replace interactions with human caretakers, but it can facilitate communication and focus on what matters to all of us: memories, family and friends, good health, and humor.” ElliQ provides companionship, connection Founded in 2016, Intuition Robotics said ElliQ is a proactive care companion intended to empower older adults to live happier, healthier, and more independent lives at home. The Ramat Gan, Israel-based company said its robotic system can help keep users engaged and informed while alleviating the effects of loneliness and…
