(Reuters) – Toyota Motor Corporation and Japan’s Nippon Telegraph and Telephone (NTT) plan to invest 500 billion yen ($3.26 billion) in research and development to create artificial intelligence software to improve autonomous driving. The Nikkei Shimbun newspaper reported on Tuesday.
The company and the Tokyo-based telecommunications giant plan to develop automotive software that uses AI to predict accidents and control vehicles, according to the report.
The companies now aim to complete a working system by 2028 and offer it to other automakers.
The deal comes at a time when Japanese automakers are looking to enter the fast-growing advanced self-driving market, which is largely dominated by Tesla and other Chinese companies.
Toyota’s fuel cell vehicle Mirai will be equipped with a hands-free driving function starting in 2021.
The two companies partnered in 2017 to develop 5G-connected vehicle technology and entered into a capital alliance in 2020 as part of a smart city project.
Toyota Motor Corporation and NTT did not respond to Reuters’ requests for comment.
(1 dollar = 153.2300 yen)
(Reporting by Shivangi Lahiri in Bengaluru; Editing by Shailesh Kuber)
