Toyota AI Ventures managing director Jim Adler has told "Reuters" that Israel is the market of the future. The new $100 million California-based venture arm of Japan’s Toyota Motor Corp wants to make more investments in Israeli robotics and vehicle technologies after a $14 million investment in Ramat Gan based Intuition Robotics in July.
The startup, which makes robot companions for the elderly, was the first Israeli investment for Toyota AI Ventures, which invests in artificial intelligence, robotics, autonomous mobility and data and cloud computing.
Adler told "Reuters," "We will see more involvement of Toyota in the Israeli market in the future. There’s more in the pipeline."
Adler was in Israel last week meeting potential investment targets. "There’s a tremendous amount of innovation happening in Israel as cars become more produced by data," he said.
Speaking about its investment in Intuition Robotics, Adler told "Reuters" that it plans to begin trials of its robots with older adults in their homes early next year. Adler added that there were many common features between robotics and autonomous vehicles, which he referred to as "big robots with wheels".
He also thought that Intuition Robotics would have a role to play in helping Japan's aging population.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on November 7, 2017
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