Toyota Ventures Seeking Startups for Factory of the Future Initiative
March 17, 2022
Toyota Ventures has launched its third global “call for innovation,” searching for early-stage companies that can help make the factory of the future a reality sooner. In partnership with Toyota’s Manufacturing Project Innovation Center (MPIC) and the Toyota Research Institute (TRI), the 2022 call focuses on scalable solutions that can modernize manufacturing and advance sustainable production.
Interested entrepreneurs and companies can apply to the call through May 31, 2022, for an opportunity to receive between $500,000 and $2 million in venture capital 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 of the future. There are a host of challenges facing the supply chain and manufacturing industry – it’s a critical time, and we see this as a perfect opportunity for startup teams with bold ideas and solutions to accelerate the Industry 4.0 transformation.”
With more than $500 million in assets under management and more than 50 portfolio companies, Toyota Ventures has invested in startups through its flagship funds, the Toyota Ventures Frontier Fund and the Toyota Ventures Climate Fund. The first call for innovation, in 2018, sought out robotics startups and led to an investment in Pasadena, Calif.-based Elementary. In 2020, the call for innovation focused on smart and connected cities, and Toyota Ventures invested in Montreal-based YPC Technologies.
Companies eligible must have raised less than $10 million in funding, can demonstrate a working prototype, and have a viable business model that can deliver real value to customers. Areas that the investment team is looking for include:
- 3D simulation
- AI and computer vision
- Adaptive robots
- Additive manufacturing
- Augmented reality
- Autonomous mobile robots
- Carbon footprint reduction
- Collaborative robots
- Cybersecurity
- Data analytics
- Electrification and battery manufacturing
- Energy efficiency
- Worker training and safety.
For more details and information, click here to apply.
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