Toyota and NTT to invest USD 3.3 billion in AI self-driving research

In a bid to strengthen its presence in the autonomous driving space, Toyota Motor Corporation and its partner Nippon Telegraph and Telephone (NTT) will together be spending approximately 500 billion yen (USD 3.3 billion) on research and development. A report by Nikkei said this collaboration could develop the most advanced artificial intelligence in order to hone self-driving software and increase vehicle safety.

The plan of the two companies is to build the auto software that can identify what might cause an accident and can autonomously take over the vehicle when required. They want their functional system ready for deployment by 2028 and intends to share the technology with other automakers.

Japanese automakers are investing into an autonomous market that the likes of China’s Baidu, China’s NEOs, Tesla, and several other large firms dominate. Toyota has already rolled out some such measures, having installed a hands-free driving feature on its Mirai fuel cell vehicle since 2021.

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Collaboration between Toyota and NTT stretches back to 2017: The pair paired up that year to develop technology for 5G connected vehicles. In addition, in 2020, they also made a capital tie up as a part of a smart city initiative.

After the Nikkei report, Toyota stated they have not officially announced the information, and reiterated its continuing efforts to collaborate with NTT to contribute to safe and secure mobility solutions. NTT has not yet commented on investment.

With the automotive industry continually evolving, partnerships like this are necessary to develop innovative technologies that keep up with global self driving technology competitors. This could go a long way towards deciding whether or not autonomous vehicles will win in Japan, and perhaps beyond.