Toyota’s first standalone, early-stage venture capital firm, Toyota AI Ventures, will change its name to Toyota Ventures and grow its total assets under management to more than $500 million with the addition of two $150 million early-stage funds: the Toyota Ventures Frontier Fund and the Toyota Ventures Climate Fund.
The new brand and additional capital are a reflection of the firm’s broadening scope and Toyota’s commitment to partnering with talented entrepreneurs to bring innovative technologies and business models to market.
Founded in 2017 as a subsidiary of Toyota Research Institute to help Toyota discover what’s next, Toyota Ventures has invested in 38 companies in artificial intelligence, autonomy, cloud computing, data, mobility and robotics. Through its Frontier Fund, Toyota Ventures will continue exploring those areas and will also expand the fund’s focus to include smart cities, digital health, financial technologies, materials and energy.
In addition, as part of Toyota’s ongoing efforts to accelerate carbon dioxide reduction, Toyota has established a new Climate Fund that the Toyota Ventures team will manage. The global fund will focus on finding and funding early-stage startups that develop innovative solutions for carbon neutrality.
