Toyota Woven Planet Acquires HD Mapping Startup Carmera

Woven Planet Holdings Acquires HD Mapping Startup Carmera

Woven Planet Holdings, established by Toyota to foster innovation in future transportation technologies – including automated driving – has finalized the acquisition of Carmera, a specialized HD mapping company. The financial details of this transaction have not been publicly disclosed.

This acquisition occurs less than two months following Woven Planet Holdings’ purchase of Lyft’s autonomous vehicle division, Level 5, for a sum of $550 million.

Integration and Team Structure

Carmera will operate as a fully owned subsidiary of Woven Planet. The startup’s team of 50 professionals, currently based in New York and Seattle, will be integrated into Woven Planet’s expanding organization, which currently comprises over 1,000 employees, as stated by Woven Planet CEO James Kuffner.

Effectively, Carmera will function as the U.S. branch of Woven Planet’s Automated Mapping Platform (AMP) team, which is centrally located in Tokyo. Ro Gupta, the co-founder and CEO of Carmera, will now report directly to Mandali Khalesi, the head of AMP.

Carmera’s Business Model and Products

Founded in 2015, Carmera initially employed a unique business model centered around data collection. They offered a free service to commercial fleet operators, leveraging the data gathered to refine and expand their core mapping product.

High-definition maps designed for autonomous vehicle applications represent Carmera’s primary offering. These maps cater to automakers, suppliers, and companies developing robotaxis. Voyage, an autonomous vehicle startup later acquired by Cruise, was among Carmera’s early adopters. Furthermore, Baidu utilized Carmera’s technology to enhance the open-source Apollo mapping project.

The company continuously updates its AV maps using crowdsourced data from its fleet-monitoring service. This service provides telematics and video monitoring for professional fleets, aiding in risk management and driver safety. Vehicles equipped with cameras contribute valuable data as they navigate urban environments.

Evolving Product Lineup

Over time, Carmera broadened its product portfolio. They introduced a real-time events and change-management engine for their autonomous maps and developed a spatial data and street analytics product tailored for cities and urban planners.

Last year saw the launch of Carmera’s “Change-as-a-Service” platform, a comprehensive suite of tools designed to detect changes and integrate with existing third-party maps.

Addressing Scalability Challenges

“A common challenge with HD map companies is the difficulty in scaling, hosting, and maintaining updates,” notes Mike Ramsey, VP analyst at Gartner. “Without addressing these issues, they often remain limited to demonstrating a promising piece of software.” He believes this acquisition effectively resolves Carmera’s scalability concerns.

Prior Collaboration and Shared Vision

Industry observers may have anticipated this merger, given Carmera’s existing relationship with Toyota Research Institute-Advanced Development, the foundation of Woven Planet.

The collaboration began three years ago with a proof-of-concept project in Japan, focused on camera-based automation for HD map creation on urban and surface roads. In 2020, the partnership expanded to include mapping initiatives in Detroit, Michigan, and various locations in Japan.

Gupta emphasized the alignment of visions, stating that Carmera’s initial seed deck from five years prior closely mirrored Woven Planet’s overall objectives and their vision for an automated mapping platform.

Synergies and Future Applications

Woven Planet (and Toyota) already possesses substantial resources, including satellite-based mapping capabilities and data from its extensive vehicle fleet. Carmera complements this with its expertise in dynamic mapping, commercial fleet solutions, and safety technologies.

Kuffner highlighted the potential for immediate applications, particularly in safety and automated driving. He noted that Toyota’s Lexus LS and Toyota Mirai models will feature the Teammate advanced driving assistance system, which utilizes HD maps. He also emphasized the significant opportunities within the fleet management sector, stating, “HD maps have a lot of applications in fleets.”

Woven Planet's Expanding Initiatives

Image Credits: Woven Planet/Toyota

The acquisitions of both Lyft and Carmera signify just a portion of Woven Planet’s extensive undertakings since its establishment in January 2021. Toyota aims to gain a competitive advantage, especially in software development, against both existing industry leaders and emerging companies.

Based in Tokyo, this subsidiary of Toyota Motor Corp. comprises three key components: the operating companies Woven Alpha and Woven Core, and the venture capital fund, Woven Capital.

Furthermore, the holding company is pioneering the Woven City project. This serves as a dedicated testing environment for innovative technologies within a fully interconnected, smart city model.

Construction of Woven City commenced in February 2021 at the Higashi-Fuji location in Susono City, Japan, situated near the base of Mount Fuji.

Woven Alpha and Woven Core

Woven Alpha and Woven Core represent the operational arms of Woven Planet, evolving from the former Toyota Research Institute — Advanced Development Inc.

Woven Core concentrates on automated driving technologies and incorporates the mapping division. Its primary focus is the advancement of self-driving capabilities.

Conversely, Woven Alpha is responsible for the creation of novel concepts and projects, notably including the development of the aforementioned prototype city.

Woven Capital's Investment Strategy

Woven Capital directs its efforts towards investing in groundbreaking mobility solutions for the future.

The venture capital division launched its $800 million strategic fund in March 2021, beginning with an investment in Nuro, a company specializing in autonomous delivery vehicles.

In the following month, Woven Capital provided an undisclosed investment to Ridecell, a transportation software startup. Ridecell’s platform is designed to facilitate the management of vehicles for car-sharing, ridesharing, and autonomous technology companies.