Carmaker Toyota and Google's Waymo have announced the early workings of a partnership aimed at accelerating autonomous driving systems development and deployment.
As part of the collaboration, Toyota will provide its Woven software and mobility solutions and integrate them with Waymo’s autonomous tech to advance next-generation personally owned vehicles (POVs).
Toyota says this involvement builds on its longstanding focus on reducing traffic accidents through integrated research in human-centric design, vehicle safety systems and smart infrastructure.
The company’s Toyota Safety Sense (TSS), a suite of safety technologies deployed globally since 2017, has had a modicum of success across the globe, including reducing rear-end collisions by 90%, and this new deal seeks to build on a focus of safety and reliability.
Waymo CEO Tekedra Mawakana says the company's mission is to be the world's most trusted driver," Mawakana said.
"This requires global partners like Toyota that share our commitment to improving road safety and expanding accessible transportation.
"We look forward to exploring this strategic partnership, incorporating their vehicles into our ride-hailing fleet and bringing the magic of Waymo's autonomous driving technology to Toyota customers."
Alphabet-owned Waymo, a leader in autonomous driving technology, racks up more than a quarter of a million trips each week in partnership with Uber across the San Francisco Bay Area and Los Angeles in California, Atlanta in Georgia, Phoenix in Arizona, and Austin, Texas.
It's competing with rival driverless car maker Tesla, which is rolling out its Robotaxi vehicles this year.
