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Toyota’s $1 Billion AI Company Will Develop Self-Driving Cars and Robot Helpers

Totally different from what Google’s self-driving unit is working toward, but just as cool.

by James Vincent
Toyota

As the world’s largest car manufacturer, Toyota knows a thing or two about getting people from point A to point B. But how do you make this process easier? The answer: artificial intelligence. Toyota announced today that it’s establishing a new company, the Toyota Research Institute, to develop AI technologies in two main areas: autonomous cars and robot helpers for around the home. The company plans to pump $1 billion into TRI over the next five years, and will be establishing headquarters for the company near Stanford University in California, with a secondary facility near MIT in Massachusetts.

Toyota originally announced academic partnerships with these universities last month along with $50 million in funding, but this new financing brings the company’s ambitions to another level.

Read the rest of this post on the original site »

This article originally appeared on Recode.net.

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