Toyota, an automaker located in Japan, is heavily investing in next-generation innovations and climate solutions.
Toyota Ventures, the company’s venture capital arm, is reportedly investing $300 million in early-stage firms with an emphasis on robots, artificial intelligence, and sustainable energy, according to Forbes.
The company says that its goal is “to explore what’s next by helping early-stage startups bring disruptive technologies and business models to market quickly.” That mission heavily emphasizes climate technologies that can be scaled up to remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.
The $300 million will be divided into two $150 million funds, the Toyota Ventures Climate Fund II and the Toyota Ventures Frontier Fund II, both of which will expand upon the funds that were already established in 2021, according to Forbes.
“With seismic breakthroughs in generative AI, e-fuels, space commercialization, carbon capture, and synthetic biology, it’s a crucial time to be investing for Toyota,” said Jim Adler, founder and general partner of Toyota Ventures, in a statement.
This latest investment is only one of many initiatives Toyota is taking to lessen the environmental impact of cars. Automakers and other businesses are paying greater attention to how climate solutions may improve both their profit lines and the environment, from new clean energy concepts to battery technology advancements and long-range electric vehicles.
Toyota added climate change to their venture fund in 2021. The corporation recently set a record for sales and increased the assortment of hybrid vehicles.
“Toyota wants us to look outside, into the startup community where companies are chasing the same kinds of goals as Toyota — lowering the carbon footprint and getting to carbon-neutral,” Adler told Reuters following the announcement of the company’s rebranding for its corporate investment arm.
Going forward, this will provide climate-conscious entrepreneurs with greater funding and opportunity. Clean energy, hydrogen solutions, collecting carbon emissions, electric vehicles, energy storage, and overall sustainability are among the many climate technology themes that Toyota Ventures is interested in.
Regarding the new $300 million Toyota Ventures investment, a LinkedIn user remarked, “This is great to see for the future of our industry and planet!”
Another LinkedIn user wrote, “Great news for climate innovators, all the best!”