The early-stage venture capital division of Toyota, Toyota Ventures, has revealed plans to invest an additional $300 million in startups creating innovative business models and game-changing technologies.
Toyota Ventures said in a statement on Wednesday that the two new funds, Toyota Ventures Frontier Fund II (TVFF II) and Toyota Ventures Climate Fund II (TVCF II), have increased the company’s total assets under management to over $800 million.
With the help of these additional funds, the company said it will be able to assist more global entrepreneurs in taking on difficult tasks in the hopes of improving both society and the environment.
“At Toyota Ventures, we are explorers. Our role is to understand technology trends that could advance Toyota’s mobility transformation in the near term and embrace the next generation of disruptive innovation in the long term,” said Jim Adler, founder and general partner of Toyota Ventures.
“At a time when some investors have scaled back, we’re scaling up by doubling down on our initial Frontier and Climate Funds,
“With seismic breakthroughs in generative artificial intelligence (AI), e-fuels, space commercialization, carbon capture, and synthetic biology, it’s a crucial time to be investing for Toyota,” he added.
The announcement states that TVFF II will prioritize startups at the forefront of deep technology in fields such as artificial intelligence (AI), robotics, cloud computing, mobility, and quantum computing, with the goal of extending Toyota Ventures’ global reach.
Veteran investor and operating executive David Sokolic, a partner in the Frontier Fund, will oversee the new fund.
Among the portfolio companies in the first Frontier Fund are Starfish Space, a provider of satellite servicing, Scentian Bio, a manufacturer of biosensors, and Haiqu, a startup developing quantum computing software.
Conversely, TVCF II aims to identify and support startups that are creating innovative and expandable solutions to mitigate climate change and advance environmental sustainability.
Under the direction of Climate Fund partner Lisa Coca, the fund’s first climate-focused fund, which debuted in 2021 and expanded to a portfolio of eighteen companies, will be expanded upon.
In line with Toyota’s carbon neutrality objectives, the first Climate Fund portfolio comprises businesses in renewable energy, such as Avalanche Energy; energy storage and batteries, such as e-Zinc and AM Batteries; carbon capture, removal, and utilization, such as Air Company and Living Carbon; hydrogen solutions, such as Ecolectro; and other related fields.
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