Toyota Ventures

Toyota Ventures, founded in 2017 and based in the San Francisco Bay Area, serves as the corporate venture capital arm of Toyota Motor. The firm focuses on investing in early-stage startups worldwide that are developing disruptive technologies and innovative business models. With over $500 million in assets under management, Toyota Ventures aims to identify and support advancements in sectors such as artificial intelligence, autonomy, mobility, robotics, cloud technology, climate tech, renewable energy, smart cities, digital health, fintech, and materials. The company operates two primary funds: the Toyota Ventures Frontier Fund, which targets a broad range of technological advancements, and the Toyota Ventures Climate Fund, dedicated to solutions that promote carbon neutrality.

Chris Abshire

Senior Associate

Jim Adler

Founding Managing Director

Lisa Coca

Partner, Climate. Fund

Erin Keller

Senior Associate

Ethan Sohn

Principal, Climate Fund

Past deals in Smart Cities

Oxylus Energy

Seed Round in 2024
Oxylus Energy focuses on innovative carbon utilization technology aimed at producing sustainable e-fuels from captured carbon dioxide. By employing a proprietary electrochemical process, the company converts CO2 into methanol, a clean-burning and versatile fuel. This approach not only provides a valuable waste product transformation but also supports the industrial sector in reducing dependence on fossil fuels, contributing to significant carbon reductions. Oxylus Energy is committed to making carbon capture and conversion competitive, scalable, and sustainable, ultimately promoting a decarbonized future.

May Mobility

Series D in 2023
May Mobility, Inc. is an autonomous vehicle company focused on transforming urban transportation through the development and operation of driverless shuttle services. Founded in 2017 and based in Ann Arbor, Michigan, the company utilizes six-passenger electric vehicles that navigate mapped routes to provide micro-transit services for enterprise and municipal clients. By analyzing traffic patterns and commuter flows, May Mobility designs optimal routes that enhance public transit systems. Their autonomous shuttles aim to minimize human error in driving, reduce pollution, and improve economic benefits for communities and riders. The company offers a fleet operation service that contributes to creating safer, more efficient, and accessible transportation solutions.

Xona Space Systems

Venture Round in 2022
Xona Space Systems, Inc. specializes in developing and manufacturing position, navigation, and timing (PNT) satellite solutions. Founded in 2019 and headquartered in San Mateo, California, the company is focused on creating a constellation of low-cost, low-Earth orbiting satellites designed to enhance navigation for various applications, including autonomous vehicles, unmanned aerial vehicles, and mobile robotics. Their flagship product, the Xona Pulsar, delivers high-power signals from low Earth orbit, ensuring secure and accurate navigation and timing services. This innovative approach aims to meet the demands of smart transportation and smart infrastructure, providing the resilience and precision necessary for modern intelligent systems to operate safely and efficiently at scale.

Universal Hydrogen

Series B in 2021
Universal Hydrogen is focused on advancing hydrogen aviation by creating a comprehensive hydrogen ecosystem tailored for the aviation industry. Founded in 2020 and based in Hawthorne, California, the company develops innovative technologies for hydrogen distribution and propulsion. It manufactures capsule modules designed to safely store hydrogen during transit, which also function as modular fuel tanks that can be directly loaded onto aircraft. Universal Hydrogen provides an end-to-end hydrogen value chain, facilitating the transport of hydrogen from production facilities to airports using existing freight infrastructure. This approach eliminates the need for expensive new pipelines and storage facilities, supporting the transition to carbon-free flight and helping to mitigate the climate impact of air travel. Through strategic partnerships and dedicated logistics, Universal Hydrogen aims to make hydrogen-powered aviation a practical reality.

Xona Space Systems

Seed Round in 2021
Xona Space Systems, Inc. specializes in developing and manufacturing position, navigation, and timing (PNT) satellite solutions. Founded in 2019 and headquartered in San Mateo, California, the company is focused on creating a constellation of low-cost, low-Earth orbiting satellites designed to enhance navigation for various applications, including autonomous vehicles, unmanned aerial vehicles, and mobile robotics. Their flagship product, the Xona Pulsar, delivers high-power signals from low Earth orbit, ensuring secure and accurate navigation and timing services. This innovative approach aims to meet the demands of smart transportation and smart infrastructure, providing the resilience and precision necessary for modern intelligent systems to operate safely and efficiently at scale.

Near Space Labs

Series A in 2021
Near Space Labs, headquartered in the United States, is an aerial imagery and earth observation company that provides comprehensive remote sensing solutions for various sectors. The company's services facilitate the monitoring of assets and enable remote access to both broad and specific areas through cloud-based delivery of fully processed images via an API. Near Space Labs supports a range of industries including insurance, utilities, infrastructure, conservation, smart cities, retail, energy, government, and disaster response. By offering affordable and frictionless imaging, the company assists clients in tracking construction progress, addressing issues such as pipeline leaks and vegetation encroachment, and responding to weather-induced damage, thereby providing actionable geospatial information that enhances mobility, leisure, and urban planning.

Universal Hydrogen

Series A in 2021
Universal Hydrogen is focused on advancing hydrogen aviation by creating a comprehensive hydrogen ecosystem tailored for the aviation industry. Founded in 2020 and based in Hawthorne, California, the company develops innovative technologies for hydrogen distribution and propulsion. It manufactures capsule modules designed to safely store hydrogen during transit, which also function as modular fuel tanks that can be directly loaded onto aircraft. Universal Hydrogen provides an end-to-end hydrogen value chain, facilitating the transport of hydrogen from production facilities to airports using existing freight infrastructure. This approach eliminates the need for expensive new pipelines and storage facilities, supporting the transition to carbon-free flight and helping to mitigate the climate impact of air travel. Through strategic partnerships and dedicated logistics, Universal Hydrogen aims to make hydrogen-powered aviation a practical reality.

Connected Signals

Venture Round in 2019
Connected Signals, Inc. is a company based in Eugene, Oregon, that specializes in providing a cloud-based system connecting vehicles to traffic signals. This technology prioritizes various types of vehicles, including buses, emergency services, and pedestrians, to enhance traffic flow and reduce trip times by optimizing traffic light changes. The company has developed Transit Signal Priority (TSP) that leverages existing hardware in buses along fixed routes. Its applications, such as EnLighten, offer real-time predictions of traffic signal states, enhancing driving safety and efficiency without distracting drivers. EnLighten informs drivers about the duration of red lights and provides alerts as lights change. Additionally, Connected Signals partners with municipalities to gather and standardize real-time traffic signal data, ensuring compatibility with diverse signal infrastructures without necessitating expensive upgrades. Founded in 2013, Connected Signals aims to improve urban mobility while focusing on safety and reducing environmental impact.

May Mobility

Series A in 2019
May Mobility, Inc. is an autonomous vehicle company focused on transforming urban transportation through the development and operation of driverless shuttle services. Founded in 2017 and based in Ann Arbor, Michigan, the company utilizes six-passenger electric vehicles that navigate mapped routes to provide micro-transit services for enterprise and municipal clients. By analyzing traffic patterns and commuter flows, May Mobility designs optimal routes that enhance public transit systems. Their autonomous shuttles aim to minimize human error in driving, reduce pollution, and improve economic benefits for communities and riders. The company offers a fleet operation service that contributes to creating safer, more efficient, and accessible transportation solutions.

May Mobility

Seed Round in 2018
May Mobility, Inc. is an autonomous vehicle company focused on transforming urban transportation through the development and operation of driverless shuttle services. Founded in 2017 and based in Ann Arbor, Michigan, the company utilizes six-passenger electric vehicles that navigate mapped routes to provide micro-transit services for enterprise and municipal clients. By analyzing traffic patterns and commuter flows, May Mobility designs optimal routes that enhance public transit systems. Their autonomous shuttles aim to minimize human error in driving, reduce pollution, and improve economic benefits for communities and riders. The company offers a fleet operation service that contributes to creating safer, more efficient, and accessible transportation solutions.
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