Toyota Motor has launched a new subsidiary that will build business ties by investing in startups and other companies that share its vision of the future of mobility.
Toyota Invention Partners began operations on Wednesday with capital of 100 billion yen, or about 670 million dollars, to invest.
The company will make long-term strategic investments in a range of firms mainly in Japan that will not be limited to the auto industry.
The subsidiary will also invest in startups participating in Toyota Woven City, the automaker’s futuristic complex in central Japan for testing new mobility systems.
It is the first time Toyota has set up a venture capital firm with no defined limit to its investment period.
Toyota aims to strengthen collaboration with external partners as part of its transformation into what it calls a ”mobility company” in response to the changes that electrification and intelligent vehicles are bringing to the auto industry.
