Toyota Motors and Softbank join forces in a multi-million dollar joint venture deal as the two of the most high-profile Japanese companies take on the autonomous vehicle's market in the country by providing cutting-edge driverless car technology and services by the second half of 2020.
The car manufacturer and the Japanese tech behemoth have announced on Thursday the formation of a joint venture which will be called Monet Technologies Corporation with the sole aim to develop new types of services which use driver-less technology like mobile convenience stores and food delivery vehicles, according to the report from CNN.
Monet, which was initially believed to be a reference to the French painter and founder of French Impressionist school of painting, Claude Monet, is sort of a portmanteau of the two words mobility and network.
According to the Telegraph, the business will start off with a capital worth 2 billion yen, or roughly USD$17.5 million. The immediate focus of this newly-formed company will be on the Japanese market whereby it will provide new ride-hailing services using autonomous vehicles for public agencies and private firms before it will set its sights on the global scene.
The unveiling of the project took place on Thursday in Tokyo and was spearheaded by Toyota's own Akio Toyoda and SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son.
As pointed out in the CNN report, it was the carmaker that first approached the Japanese tech giant for this joint business proposal as a way for them to keep up with rivals that are already blazing the trails in the development of autonomous driving technology.
But as clarified, Monet will not build its own driverless cars from the ground up, but instead, it will look for the services that such types of vehicles can provide for the masses.
Citing the statement from Son, the SoftBank big boss shows confidence in the merger believing that it will take the mobility industry to new greater heights.
In terms of ownership, SoftBank will get to own over half of Monet, while Toyota holds the rest of the shares.
Match Made in Heaven
The cooperation between SoftBank and Toyota is considered a perfect tandem, with the latter being the authority in vehicle manufacturing and development.
SoftBank, on the other hand, owns a sprawling number of companies specializing in artificial intelligence and internet services. The firm happens to preside several ride-sharing startups which is an advantage as it can provide extensive data on transportation trends like traffic patterns and the passengers' preferences.
