KIYOSU, Japan—Automotive supplier Toyoda Gosei Co. Ltd. is establishing a corporate venture capital department in January, supporting its aim to invest in new technologies.
The new department, Toyoda Gosei said, will help the firm establish "flexible and swift investment in startups," while also helping speed up innovations and commercialize new products.
The department will have an operating budget of $26.4 million, and will invest in robotics, semiconductors, next-generation automotive parts and materials for the next two years.
The move is in line with the firm's medium-term 2025 business plan, which was introduced in May as a way to support the company through "dramatically changing business environment." The business plan targets some of Toyoda Gosei's new mobility innovations, such as further development of e-Rubber—a next-generation artificial muscle for robots—as well as modular automotive products with human-machine interface functionality for automotive driving
In order to commercialize those innovations, Toyoda Gosei said its new department will "invest quickly in startups that are promising for synergy with Toyoda Gosei's core technologies."