Toyota is seeking breakthroughs in areas such as mobility, climate solutions, artificial intelligence, and industrial automation. To achieve this, the company is allocating $1.5 billion in fresh funding, which will be used to support startups throughout their entire journey—from the earliest stages of innovation, through their development, and up to their establishment as mature enterprises.
On Tuesday, Toyota revealed two related initiatives that highlight its increasing engagement with the startup community. These moves also suggest that emerging startups and their technologies could play a significant role in Woven City, a 175-acre experimental city at the base of Mount Fuji in Japan, which was established this year to foster startup growth.
The automaker announced the formation of Toyota Invention Partners Co., a new strategic investment arm with a capital base of approximately $670 million, and the launch of a second $800 million fund by its growth-stage investment division, Woven Capital.
Toyota Invention Partners will adopt a long-term investment approach, concentrating on startups based in Japan and moving away from the conventional fixed investment timelines typical of other funds. According to George Kellerman, general partner at Woven Capital, Toyota Invention Partners Co. serves as a counterpart to the company’s other investment entities.
“You can think of Toyota Invention Partners as providing the bookends to what Toyota Ventures and Woven Capital are involved in,” Kellerman explained during a phone conversation. “They are focused on the earliest phases at one end, but they also engage in long-term project financing and asset management for infrastructure, which could span 30, 40, or even 50 years.”
He clarified that Toyota Invention Partners operates at the initial “zero to one” phase, Toyota Ventures deals with early-stage startups, and Woven Capital invests in growth-stage companies. However, Toyota Invention Partners may continue to support a startup through all these phases, and if the company grows significantly, it could eventually be integrated into Toyota’s main operations, Kellerman noted.
Kellerman emphasized that these two announcements demonstrate Toyota’s dedication to startups and the innovative technologies they are developing.
“What excites me most is Toyota’s clear commitment—they are investing more than $3 billion across Toyota Invention Partners, both Woven Capital funds, and all Toyota Ventures funds,” he said. “Our goal is to ensure we can meet the evolving needs of the founders and the market, as those needs shift depending on the stage of the company.”
This approach is further illustrated by another announcement made on Tuesday. Machina Labs, an advanced manufacturing company based in Los Angeles that uses AI and robotics to quickly fabricate metal components, received a strategic investment from Woven Capital and will collaborate with Toyota Motor North America on a pilot project. Toyota will evaluate Machina Labs’ manufacturing technology for producing car body panels and accessories. The financial details of the investment were not disclosed by Woven Capital or Machina Labs.
Woven Capital, which began in 2021 with an $800 million fund, remains focused on backing global startups that are entering their growth phase. The firm has already invested in 18 companies from its first fund, including Foretellix and autonomous driving startup Nuro, and will continue to use capital from this fund for additional investments.
The second fund, also totaling $800 million, aims to invest in 20 to 25 new companies from Series B to later stages, focusing on advancements in AI, automation, climate tech, energy, sustainability, and related fields. With the launch of this new fund, Woven Capital has also become a wholly owned subsidiary of Toyota.
