Toyota Needs These Startups to Crack the Driverless Code
- Automaker invested in AI ventures PKSHA and Preferred Networks
- PKSHA co-founder sees $250 million windfall after recent IPO
Race To Build Self-Driving Cars Accelerates
This article is for subscribers only.
When it comes to cracking the code for self-driving cars, startups have an edge on big business, says computer scientist Katsuya Uenoyama.
That may sound like bravado coming from the co-founder of a venture with just 30 employees working out of a small office in Tokyo, but Toyota Motor Corp. apparently agrees. The automaker last week made a $9.1 million investment in the initial public offering of Uenoyama’s firm, PKSHA Technology Inc. (pronounced pahk-sha), which is developing software that could one day help cars learn to hold a conversation with drivers.