Toyota Will Establish New A.I. Research Company

For today’s Beechmont Toyota blog post, we’ve learned of a new initiative out of the Toyota Motor Corporation camp. In a press conference earlier today, it was revealed that the automaker will be making an initial $1 Billion investment in two new facilities, as part of the establishment of a new artificial intelligence research and development company known as Toyota Research Institute Inc. (TRI). The new company will be headquartered in Palo Alto, California, near Stanford University. The second facility will be across the country in Cambridge, Massachusetts, near MIT.

According to press notes, the main mission of TRI will be to “accelerate R&D in a range of fields to help resolve society’s future challenges by using artificial intelligence and big data. Thereby, contributing to a sustainable future where everyone can experience a safer, freer, and unconstrained life.”

“As technology continues to progress, so does our ability to improve products,” said Toyota president, Akio Toyoda. “At Toyota, we do not pursue innovation simply because we can; we pursue it because we should. It is our responsibility to make life better for our customers, and society as a whole.”

A.I. and robotics? Yes, we’re going there in a big way with a $1 billion R&D investment… https://t.co/60J7oOTBzk pic.twitter.com/mWnoQpmhL1

— Toyota USA (@Toyota) November 6, 2015