Toyota AI Ventures is hitting the road in search of robotics innovators
In July, we announced our first “call for innovation” in partnership with the Toyota Research Institute (TRI), to find and fund robotics startups that are developing mobile manipulation solutions. We’re looking to invest up to $2 million in promising startups with technologies and business models that can improve robotics in the home — and we’re taking our search on the road!
Starting today at the RoboBusiness 2018 conference in Silicon Valley, the Toyota AI Ventures team will be visiting technology hubs across the U.S. to meet entrepreneurs and spread the word about this opportunity. Here’s where to find us:
September 26: RoboBusiness 2018 in Santa Clara, CA
Jim Adler and Chris Abshire will be hosting VC office hours, and Jim will give a talk about the call for innovation during the Pitchfire startup competition.
October 1: Austin Startup Week in Austin, TX
Chris Abshire is participating in an investor panel and hosting VC office hours.
October 9: Investing in Robotics Innovation in Pittsburgh, PA
Jim Adler and Chris Abshire will be hosting VC office hours, and we’re co-hosting an evening panel with Innovation Works that will feature Jim and TRI’s chief science officer Eric Krotkov.
October 10: IEEE’s Robotics and Automation Society meeting hosted by TRI in Cambridge, MA
Jim Adler and Jill Ford will be hosting VC office hours, and Jim is participating in an IEEE event about TRI’s robotics group along with Eric Krotkov.
Together with TRI, we envision a future where assistive robots that work around, and with people, in the home are safer, more useful, and more affordable. If you’re running a robotics startup, or thinking of starting one, we encourage you to respond to the call.
Applications are being accepted now, and the deadline is October 31, 2018. Learn more, and review the eligibility criteria and guidelines, on our site.
We look forward to hearing from you and meeting the robotics communities in each of the cities we’ll be visiting.
