Toyota Motor Corporation and Japan-based ALBERT Inc. have agreed on a business alliance for big data analysis, mainly in the field of advanced development of automated driving technology, and that Toyota will invest in ALBERT. Toyota’s investment in ALBERT is expected to be in the amount of ¥400 million (US$3.6 million), and Toyota is to acquire new shares in ALBERT issued through a third-party allocation of shares dated 30 May 2018.

To promote the development of automated driving technologies, Toyota has been bolstering its organization through measures such as establishing the advanced research company, Toyota Research Institute (TRI), in the United States in January 2016 and the advanced development company, Toyota Research Institute-Advanced Development (TRI-AD), in Tokyo, while also advancing its technology development centered on AI.

ALBERT, as a group of data scientists in the domain of big data analysis, has been continuously providing optimal solutions to companies since 2005. In recent years, it has been actively expanding into the field of imagery analysis in the development of automated driving technologies. Through the business alliance between Toyota and ALBERT, Toyota believes it will be possible to strengthen elements such as data analysis processes in Toyota’s development of AI technologies, which is expected to achieve greater acceleration of Toyota’s development of automated driving technologies.