Those of us who like to ride our bikes on city streets know the importance of The Staredown. Say a biker is trundling past an intersection and a car is inching forward to make a righthand turn while the light is red. It makes the biker feel better to intently stare at the driver in … Continue reading “Perceptive Automata Uses Neuroscience to Help AVs Predict Intent”
Tag: Toyota AI Ventures
Mobility News: Cruise’s New Cash, Tesla’s Pivot to Robotaxis & More
As the mobility industry waits with baited breath to see how Uber’s IPO will play out on Friday, there is plenty of news being made elsewhere in the sector. Cruise scored another massive investment, Toyota AI Ventures opened a new fund, scooters continue to rev up, and more. Read on for details. —Our own Bernadette … Continue reading “Mobility News: Cruise’s New Cash, Tesla’s Pivot to Robotaxis & More”
The Investments Cisco, Samsung, Toyota, and Chevron Are Making in AI
Austin—If you’re a startup talking up your artificial intelligence chops in your venture capital pitch, you’re not alone. For Cisco Investments, the venture arm of tech giant Cisco, artificial intelligence is no longer one of the key trends to watch for during pitches in 2019. That’s according to Noah Yago, a director at Cisco Investments, … Continue reading “The Investments Cisco, Samsung, Toyota, and Chevron Are Making in AI”
May Mobility Snags $22M Investment, Will Expand to New Cities in ’19
May Mobility, an Ann Arbor, MI-based startup developing self-driving shuttles, today announced that it has raised a $22 million Series A funding round. The company has raised approximately $33.5 million since its inception in 2017. The new investment was co-led by Millennium New Horizons and Cyrus Capital Partners, with participation from LG Technology Ventures, Thayer … Continue reading “May Mobility Snags $22M Investment, Will Expand to New Cities in ’19”
Boston Tech Watch: Underscore VC, Piaggio, SoftBank & Sea Machines
A pair of massive Boston-area investments from the Japanese SoftBank Group’s $100 billion Vision Fund, a moonshot power storage spinout from Alphabet’s X labs, and some local robotics moves are found in this week’s Boston technology news. —Underscore VC, a Boston-based venture capital firm focused on early-stage tech startups, is capping off its second fund … Continue reading “Boston Tech Watch: Underscore VC, Piaggio, SoftBank & Sea Machines”
Boston Tech Watch: Wayfair, Monster, Circle, Rocket, Cogito & More
Time to catch up on recent Boston-area tech headlines, including a trio of mergers and acquisitions, venture capital deals in artificial intelligence and cybersecurity, a new chief technology officer at Monster, and Wayfair’s first brick-and-mortar locations. Read on for details. —Bain Capital Private Equity reached an agreement to purchase a majority stake in Rocket Software, … Continue reading “Boston Tech Watch: Wayfair, Monster, Circle, Rocket, Cogito & More”
May Mobility CEO: We’ll Beat Waymo, Uber, and Cruise to Market
When we spoke with Ed Olson, CEO of May Mobility, in January, he told us that his driverless-vehicle company had raised a little over $11 million in seed funding in 2017. Last week, May disclosed more details about its $11.5 million seed round: it was led by venture investment arms of Toyota and BMW, and … Continue reading “May Mobility CEO: We’ll Beat Waymo, Uber, and Cruise to Market”
Roundup, Part Two: Venture Fellows, IoT Pitch Contest, Clinc, More
On Tuesday, we published a roundup of innovation briefs from across the state. The year has gotten off to such a busy start that we’re back with part two. Without further ado, here’s a look at Michigan’s recent technology news: —Last month, the Michigan Venture Capital Association kicked off its annual Venture Fellows program, which matches … Continue reading “Roundup, Part Two: Venture Fellows, IoT Pitch Contest, Clinc, More”
Jill Ford Scores New Tech Investing Gig with Toyota AI Ventures
Jill Ford, the city of Detroit’s former head of entrepreneurship and innovation, says she was already interested in the mobility field when she landed a new job last month with Toyota AI Ventures, the Silicon Valley-based investment arm of the Toyota Research Institute. “After hearing about Toyota AI Ventures and its mission, I was fascinated by … Continue reading “Jill Ford Scores New Tech Investing Gig with Toyota AI Ventures”
Toyota’s First Venture Arm Gets $100M for AI, Robotics, Mobility Startups
Toyota Research Institute, the Toyota R&D unit that has parked branches near Stanford and two other top U.S. research universities, is now spinning out a corporate venture capital arm that will finance and incubate startups in artificial intelligence, robotics, and autonomous mobility. The research institute, also known as TRI, is devoting at least $100 million … Continue reading “Toyota’s First Venture Arm Gets $100M for AI, Robotics, Mobility Startups”