Toyota Woven City is open for business and looking for startups

Akio Toyoda, Chairman of the Board of Toyota Motor, informed about this on Monday CES 2025 his vision for a living lab full of startups and technology. His message: Woven City – a prototype city on 175 hectares at the foot of Mount Fuji in Japan – is open to businesses and inventors.

“Today I say to anyone who is inspired or excited to make a difference anywhere in the world. Make a change or calculate. Please consider this your official invitation to join us at Woven City,” Toyoda said on stage. Toyoda said on Monday that Woven City is set to launch in the fall of 2025 or shortly thereafter.

At Toyoda, this summer the company is launching a pitch competition and will offer scholarships to Woven City for “startups or individuals who need financial support to bring their ideas to life.”

Toyoda first shared his vision five years ago at CES 2020. At the time, the plans were to build a kind of utopian city where people would live and work among all of Toyota’s projects, including autonomous e-Palette shuttles and robots.

But Toyoda’s vision has since expanded. While on stage, he touched on electric air taxis – specifically mentioning his recent Joby Aviation. He invested 500 million dollars including — autonomous vehicle technology and missiles. yes, rockets.

Surprisingly, Toyoda isn’t even sure the effort will make money.

“I know what you’re thinking with this Woven City, is Toyota going to make money?” Toyoda asked the audience. “Well, maybe not, but that’s okay, because as global citizens, I believe Toyota has a responsibility to invest in our collective future, share what we learn, and support new ideas.”

The company broke ground on the project in February 2021 at the former site of Toyota Motor East Japan’s Higashi-Fuji Plant in Susono. The first phase includes buildings designed for “co-creation” activities. Toyoda said on stage Monday that workers, scholars, entrepreneurs and retirees will be invited to live in Woven City.

Toyota is also renovating the former TMEJ Higashi-Fuji plant to turn it into a manufacturing hub. Staff are preparing the site for Phase 2. However, that likely won’t launch for a while as the company plans to take what it learned from Phase 1 to help refine its future development plans.

Some inventors have already joined Woven City, including WbyTas well as foreign companies, start-ups and sole proprietors. Woven City is also in ongoing discussions with previously announced companies such as ENEOS Corporation, Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation and Rinnai Corporation, according to the company.