TechTaffy

tech:

taffy

Toyota investing $500M in Uber; to launch autonomous-mobility as a service fleet

By TechTaffy Desk

Toyota is investing $500 million in Uber. The two companies are also expanding their autonomous ride-sharing collaboration, integrating their technology jointly into purpose-built Toyota vehicles to be deployed on Uber’s ride-sharing network.

The initial “Autono-MaaS” (autonomous-mobility as a service) fleet will be based on Toyota’s Sienna Minivan platform, the companies said in a statement.

Uber’s autonomous driving system and the Toyota Guardian automated safety support system will be integrated into the Autono-MaaS vehicles. Toyota will also utilize its Mobility Services Platform (MSPF), its core information infrastructure for connected vehicles.

Uber and Toyota say they anticipate that the mass-produced autonomous vehicles will be owned and operated by mutually agreed upon third party autonomous fleet operators.

Pilot-scale deployments will begin on the Uber ride-sharing network in 2021.

Toyota’s investment in Uber and the proposed collaboration are subject to standard regulatory approvals.

[Image courtesy: Toyota]

Just in

Around the web

U.S. bans noncompete agreements for nearly all jobs — NPR

The Federal Trade Commission narrowly voted Tuesday to ban nearly all noncompetes, employment agreements that typically prevent workers from joining competing businesses or launching ones of their own, writes Andrea Hsu. 
AI

The Coca-Cola Company commits $1.1B to Microsoft Cloud and AI partnership

The Coca-Cola Company and Microsoft announced a five-year partnership on Tuesday. As part of the collaboration, Coca-Cola has committed $1.1 billion to Microsoft Cloud and generative AI capabilities. 
Industry

Silicon Labs appoints Radhika Chennakeshavula as CIO

Silicon Labs has appointed Radhika Chennakeshavula as chief information officer.
Around the web

Apple deletes WhatsApp, Threads from China app store on orders from Beijing — CNN

Apple has removed WhatsApp and Threads from its app store in China, following an order from the country’s internet watchdog, writes Juliana Liu.
Industry

Singtel, Vonage partner to integrate Paragon platform

Singtel has announced a partnership with Vonage, a cloud communications company and subsidiary of Ericsson, to help enterprises and telcos innovate and scale their services through Singtel's orchestration platform, Paragon.