Toyota Ventures

A big thank you to everyone who participated in the Toyota Ventures Startup Showcase during Climate Week NYC. Our team had the privilege of bringing together members of the climate tech ecosystem, including early stage startup executives, investors, policymakers, and media representatives. Toyota Ventures founder and general partner Jim Adler, together with Climate Fund partner Lisa Coca, set the tone of the event with opening remarks. We heard from founders and executives of our portfolio companies AM Batteries (Lie Shi, CEO ), ZymoChem (Joe Giallanella, vice president and general manager), Yard Stick PBC (Chris Tolles, co-founder and CEO), Ecolectro, Inc. (Gabriel G. Rodríguez-Calero, co-founder and CEO), Living Carbon (Maddie Hall, co-founder and CEO), Vow (Joe Turner, CFO) , and Zeno (Michael Spencer, founder and CEO). Following the startup presentations, Andrew Hawkins from The Verge moderated a?fireside chat with Revel's co-founder and CEO, Frank Reig and vice president of corporate affairs, Haley Rubinson that underscored the urgent need for public-private partnerships to accelerate our journey towards carbon neutrality. The event wrapped up with a unique tasting experience from Vow, in partnership with Chef Carlos de la Concha and Chef Abigail Kern, who brought the company’s Forged Parfait to life. We’re grateful to all who helped make this event a success, and look forward to the next one!

Our portfolio company Pickle Robot Company has raised $50 million in Series B funding! Truck unloading is one of the most labor-intensive, physically demanding, and highest turnover work areas in logistics operations, and Pickle is focused on charting the future of supply chain robotics through its Physical AI technology. The funding will be used to accelerate the development of new feature sets and build out the company’s commercial teams to unlock new markets and geographies for global robotic truck unloading customers. Read more: https://lnkd.in/e-x9mVt6

Join us today at the Plug and Play Mobility Expo to hear our Frontier Fund partner David Sokolic's keynote presentation on the future of mobility and innovation shaping the future of the industry. ? 1:30- 2:00 (PST) ?? Plug and Play HQ ?? https://lnkd.in/eEQ7Dths See you there!

Congratulations to our our portfolio company Vow, which announced the launch of Forged Gras – a revolutionary twist on the delicacy, foie gras. The announcment marks Vow as one of the first companies to actively be selling multiple cultured meat products in multiple markets. Read more below:

Our portfolio company Recogni recently announced Juniper’s ongoing collaboration and investment in the company's $102 million Series C funding round, which has been co-led by Celesta Capital and GreatPoint Ventures. The collaboration will focus on AI inference compute and will address the growing demand from hyperscalers, compute service providers and enterprises for a cost-effective, scalable, energy-efficient solution to run increasingly complex AI models across cloud environments and data centers. The innovation will leverage Recogni’s patented AI inference accelerator, based on?Pareto math, which is designed from the ground up to optimize energy efficiency and model accuracy. Read more: https://lnkd.in/gbvTzjwx

Exciting news in the world of #industrialautomation and #AI! ?? Rockwell Automation has just launched FactoryTalk Analytics VisionAI, a cutting-edge AI-powered vision inspection solution for enhanced quality control. This innovative technology is set to revolutionize manufacturing processes, making them more efficient and accurate than ever before. As a company dedicated to pushing the boundaries of what's possible in industrial AI and quality inspection, we at Elementary are thrilled to announce this partnership with Rockwell. This new offering exemplifies the growing importance of AI-driven solutions in modern manufacturing. Key highlights of FactoryTalk Analytics VisionAI: ? Advanced AI algorithms for reliable defect detection ? Seamless integration with existing manufacturing systems ? Improved product quality and reduced waste This launch reinforces the trend towards more connected factories via #closedloopquality. It's inspiring to see industry leaders like Rockwell Automation driving innovation and shaping the future of manufacturing. Read more about the product launch here: https://lnkd.in/gzdXp_-p

Ecolectro, Inc., our portfolio company, is developing affordable, scalable Anion Exchange Membrane (AEM) electrolyzers to make hydrogen more cost-effective and manageable. After raising a $10.6 million Series A, they're now constructing their first commercial electrolyzer, a 250-kilowatt model producing 125 kg/day. Read more about the company and its progress in TechCrunch: https://lnkd.in/d5UXc9g6

Next week, Toyota Ventures Frontier Fund partner David Sokolic will be participating in the Plug and Play Mobility Expo as a keynote speaker. On November 20th at 1:30 pm PT, he will share details on Toyota Ventures and the evolution of mobility investments to date. Register today: https://lnkd.in/gXPBV9pg

Exciting to see our portfolio company Starfish Space?has raised $29M to launch satellite-servicing spacecraft missions. The Washington-based startup’s Otter spacecraft is designed for two primary missions: extending the operational life of expensive satellites in geostationary orbit (GEO) and disposing of defunct satellites in low Earth orbit (LEO). It’s a series of capabilities that have never been available for satellite operators, who launch their satellites with the expectation that they’ll only have a limited span of useful life. Read more about the funding and Starfish Space via TechCrunch: https://lnkd.in/g2bQw_yr

Recently Lyft announced it has signed a deal with portfolio company May Mobility to launch autonomous vehicles on the Lyft app starting in Atlanta in 2025. Atlanta riders will have the opportunity to be matched with a fleet of autonomous Toyota Sienna minivans equipped with May Mobility’s autonomous technology, a deployment that Lyft and May Mobility aim to scale over time across multiple markets. Read more in TechCrunch: https://lnkd.in/ggTwg5KJ