Tokyo, Japan (August 26, 2020) - Toyota Research Institute - Advanced Development, Inc. (“TRI-AD”) announced today that it will actively participate in SmartCityX, a global open innovation program led by Scrum Ventures LLC ("Scrum Ventures"). This program aims to create high-value services and applications from the perspective of consumers to not only help resolve social issues, but also achieve more affluent and fulfilling lives and well-being.

Through participating in this program, TRI-AD aims to realize new value as soon as possible by strengthening its ability to incubate new businesses and explore partners beyond today’s existing domains.

Background

In order to further expand and improve its operations, TRI-AD announced on July 28, 2020, that, effective January 2021, it will shift to a holding company and two operating companies. The holding company will be Woven Planet Holdings, Inc. (“Woven Planet Holdings”), and the two operating companies under it will be Woven Core, Inc. (“Woven Core”), and Woven Alpha, Inc. (“Woven Alpha”). Under the new Woven Planet Holdings structure, they will explore new business opportunities to create new values such as Woven City, Arene^*1, and Automated Mapping Platform^*2 (“AMP”) in order to deliver mobility (including the mobility of people, goods, and information) to everyone in addition to the establishment of automated driving technologies they have developed.

By participating in this program, TRI-AD will deepen collaborations with companies such as Scrum Ventures and five other partner companies, and will work with cutting-edge startups around the world to develop future businesses and implement concrete service applications in society.

Overview of SmartCityX

Official Website URL: https://www.smartcity-x.com/

Comments from Hiroshi Saijo, VP (Business Development and Strategy)

"COVID-19 and the heavy rain disaster that hit southern Japan have made us realize that various technologies will contribute to maintaining and improving our quality of life, and at the same time, further technologies and services will be needed. SmartCityX is an opportunity to create human-centric value that will reach far beyond the current business and technical capabilities of the participating companies."

Scrum Ventures overview

• Company Name: Scrum Ventures LLC

• Representative: General Partner Takuya Miyata (Founder)

• Headquarters: San Francisco, U.S.

• Established: February 2013

• Business content: Venture investment, Start-up business creation studio, Online business platforms

• URL: https://en.smartcity-x.com/

Notes

*1 Arene: An open platform developed by TRI-AD to create programmable cars. It includes elements and APIs necessary for vehicle safety and enables speedy development from concept to deployment. It also allows developers and OEMs to continuously update their software in an agile way while maintaining a high level of safety and security.

*2 Automated Mapping Platform (AMP): An open software platform that allows companies to create and share high-precision maps while companies share data on automated-driving vehicles.

About TRI-AD

Toyota Research Institute - Advanced Development, Inc. (TRI-AD), located in Tokyo, Japan, was founded in March 2018 for the purpose of developing innovative products that will enable Toyota’s vision, “Mobility for All.” TRI-AD's mission is to create new technology and advanced safety systems for the world. TRI-AD also oversees Toyota’s newly announced Woven City, that will serve as an incubator for smart city design, connected mobility, and robotics technology from Toyota and its partners. For more information about TRI-AD, please visit: http://www.tri-ad.global/.