Woven Planet Holdings, a Subsidiary of Toyota, to Acquire CARMERA
15.7.2021 00:00:00 EEST | Business Wire | Press release
Woven Planet Holdings, Inc. (“Woven Planet”), a subsidiary of the Toyota Motor Corporation, announced the acquisition of CARMERA, Inc. (“CARMERA”), a U.S.-based spatial AI company, which specializes in bringing next-generation road intelligence to automated mobility at scale. This is the second major deal for Woven Planet in North America, following the April 2021 announcement to acquire Level 5, the self-driving division of Lyft.
This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210714005892/en/
Proof of Concept in Tokyo (Still) (Graphic: Business Wire)
Once the deal is closed, the CARMERA team will report into the Automated Mapping Platform (“AMP”) organization of Woven Alpha, Inc. (“Woven Alpha”). Woven Alpha focuses on exploring new strategic areas for business expansion and incubates several innovative projects such as Woven City and Arene, which is Woven Planet’s open software platform. AMP is a connected crowdsourced software platform that supports the creation, development and distribution of high definition (“HD”) maps—a key enabler for smart and safe automated mobility.
The Woven Alpha team plans to develop AMP to become the most globally comprehensive road and lane network HD map platform, enabling high-precision localization support to automated vehicles. The acquisition of CARMERA will accelerate AMP’s shift from the R&D stage to the next phase of commercialization by bolstering the platform’s engineering team with top experts in the development of HD maps. In addition, it will provide access to CARMERA’s sophisticated map update, change management and IoT sensing technology.
Together, the teams will tap into CARMERA’s ability to successfully update HD maps from crowdsourced, camera-based inputs—a significantly cheaper and faster approach than traditional methods. This will strengthen AMP’s ability to serve a comprehensive set of road classes and features, reflecting changes in lane markings, traffic signals, signs and more in near real-time, and support its future multi-regional commercial launch.
CARMERA will join Woven Planet Group as a wholly-owned subsidiary, expanding the company’s footprint beyond its Tokyo headquarters by adding New York and Seattle offices to its planned offices in Silicon Valley and London.
Comment from Mandali Khalesi, Vice President of Automated Driving Strategy and Mapping, Woven Planet:
“AMP has been a key project of Woven Planet since its foundation, helping support its vision of ‘Mobility to Love, Safety to Live.’ We’ve been progressing steadily in bringing safe automated mobility to the passenger and commercial vehicle segments, such as our recent announcements with Isuzu Motors Limited and Hino Motors, Ltd., and with Mitsubishi Fuso Truck and Bus Corporation. I’m really excited to welcome CARMERA to Woven Planet. With CARMERA joining the team, we’ll be able to hit the accelerator. CARMERA’s software stack, which is focused on real-time HD map changes and proprietary hardware custom-tailored to crowdsourcing, is an ideal complement to AMP’s mapping efforts. In addition, their world-class experts will allow us to bring forward the execution of key strategic milestones and jumpstart operations in the United States.”
Comment from Ro Gupta, CEO and Co-founder, CARMERA:
“Woven Planet and AMP have been highly aligned with CARMERA’s culture and mission from the beginning. Our teams have a common view of the unmet need for ubiquity in advanced mobility data going forward, including maps. Woven Planet, thanks to its software-first automotive DNA, shares our commitment to the end-user—to creating a technology stack that can be used safely and without friction by all stakeholders from data originators through to data consumers. This validates and furthers our founding thesis that richer, faster spatial intelligence is both critical to the next generation of ‘Mobility for All’ and viable at global-production scale. I’m beyond excited for CARMERA to join the Woven Planet organization, as it continues to strengthen its footprint in North America and ramp up its software-first development of mobility innovations.”
An earlier partnership between Woven Planet—under its predecessor organization Toyota Research institute - Advanced Development, Inc.—and CARMERA in Tokyo, Detroit and Ann Arbor, Michigan, laid the groundwork for this deal. Woven Planet and CARMERA participated in collaborative projects in 2018, 2019 and 2020, which proved the companies can successfully develop and update HD maps from commodity, device-agnostic sources, such as commercially available dashboard-mounted cameras.
About Woven Planet Group
Woven Planet Group represents a carefully curated blend of expertise and resources dedicated to bringing the vision of “Mobility to Love, Safety to Live” to life. Through innovations and investments in automated driving, robotics, smart cities, and more, we are transforming how humankind lives, works, and moves. We exist to design, build, and deliver secure, connected, and sustainable mobility solutions that benefit all people worldwide. Founded in 2018 as Toyota Research Institute - Advanced Development (TRI-AD), Woven Planet Group is composed of four complementary companies: Woven Planet Holdings, Woven Core, Woven Alpha, and Woven Capital.
For more information, please visit: https://www.woven-planet.global/
About CARMERA
CARMERA is a spatial AI company, built on the revolution of vehicular crowdsourcing and remote sensing to capture street-level change, at global breadth and high definition depth. CARMERA employs an open systems approach to working with the world’s leading automotive companies, commercial mobility operators, and mapping platforms. With a team hailing from leading geospatial, machine learning and computer vision organizations, and venture backing from GV (Google Ventures) among others, the company is headquartered in New York City and Seattle. CARMERA is the recipient of multiple industry awards, including Frost & Sullivan’s 2020 North American Mapping Company of the Year.
For more information, please visit: https://www.carmera.com/
To view this piece of content from cts.businesswire.com, please give your consent at the top of this page.
View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210714005892/en/
Contact information
Woven Planet Holdings, Inc.
pr@woven-planet.global
https://www.woven-planet.global/
CARMERA, Inc.
press@carmera.com
https://www.carmera.com/
About Business Wire
For more than 50 years, Business Wire has been the global leader in press release distribution and regulatory disclosure.
Subscribe to releases from Business Wire
Subscribe to all the latest releases from Business Wire by registering your e-mail address below. You can unsubscribe at any time.
Latest releases from Business Wire
Landmark Global Galderma Survey Shows 9 out of 10 People Are Affected by Skin Quality Concerns7.7.2026 08:00:00 EEST | Press release
Galderma (SWX:GALD) has unveiled results from the world’s most extensive skin quality profiling survey, finding that skin quality concerns are widespread, can impact emotional wellbeing and, while differing based on the individual, are often similar among people alike in age, lifestyle, and environment.1 These results underscore the need for effective solutions that can be tailored to a wide variety of skin quality concerns. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260706426842/en/ Key findings:1 Nine out of ten people globally are affected by skin quality concerns, with each person experiencing an average of two concerns in the past month The most common concerns are fine lines and wrinkles (41%), dry skin (40%), and dull skin (37%), most frequently affecting the face Skin quality impacts quality of life for 85% of people, with more than one in three reporting feelings of self-consciousness, insecurity or anxiety Skin
Morinaga Milk Achieves Self-Affirmed GRAS Status for LAC-Living+™, Expanding U.S. Opportunities for Its Postbiotic Ingredient7.7.2026 05:00:00 EEST | Press release
Morinaga Milk Industry Co., Ltd. (TOKYO:2264), a leading Japanese dairy and functional ingredient company, today announced that it has achieved self-affirmed GRAS (Generally Recognized As Safe) status in the United States for LAC-Living+™ (L. helveticus MCC1848), its proprietary postbiotic ingredient. This milestone expands the commercial availability of LAC-Living+ in the U.S. market and enables its use in dietary supplements, functional foods, and beverages, supporting the development of products designed to address growing consumer demand for health and well-being solutions. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260706806943/en/ Growing Interest in Postbiotics and Mental Well-Being Consumer interest in proactive health management has expanded significantly in recent years, alongside increasing awareness of the connection between the gut and the brain, commonly referred to as the gut–brain axis. As a result, the g
Access Advance Welcomes New Licensors to the Video Distribution Patent Pool7.7.2026 03:00:00 EEST | Press release
Access Advance LLC today announced that Sharp, M&K Holdings, Tagivan and 9 other patent owners who own substantial video codec patent portfolios that cover the core technologies behind video decoding, processing, and streaming media delivery, have joined the Video Distribution Patent Pool (VDP Pool) in the first half of 2026. "The addition of all of these new Licensors’ patent portfolios is a real win for both the VDP Pool and our many existing and future Licensees,” said Peter Moller, CEO of Access Advance. “These companies have broad and deep patent portfolios and further enhance the program’s market leading position in resolving the licensing issues around the use of modern video codecs across all the diverse business models of internet video streaming.” The following patent holders have joined the VDP Pool as Licensors in the first half of 2026: Digital Insights Inc. Hanbat National University Industry-Academic Cooperation Foundation Hanwha Vision Co., Ltd. Industry-Academy Coopera
Real Chemistry Announces New Asia Pacific Hub with Acquisition of Spurwing Communications in Singapore7.7.2026 02:00:00 EEST | Press release
Real Chemistry, a global leader in AI- and insights-driven healthcare communications, today announced the acquisition of Spurwing Communications, establishing the company’s first Asia Pacific (APAC) strategic hub in Singapore. This milestone strengthens Real Chemistry’s global strategy and presence in APAC, enhancing its ability to support healthcare organizations. Combining deep market expertise with globally integrated capabilities across analytics, medical communications, advertising and strategic communications, the company is well positioned to deliver more connected, local insight-driven support — ultimately helping clients better reach and engage healthcare professionals, patients and caregivers across the region. “APAC is fast becoming one of the most dynamic and strategically important regions for healthcare innovation and access to life-improving therapies,” said Kath Harrison, Group President, International Growth at Real Chemistry. “By bringing Spurwing into Real Chemistry,
Vertex to Acquire Crinetics Pharmaceuticals6.7.2026 23:04:00 EEST | Press release
Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (Nasdaq: VRTX) and Crinetics Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq: CRNX), a global pharmaceutical company focused on the discovery, development and commercialization of novel therapeutics for endocrine diseases, today announced that the companies have entered into a definitive agreement under which Vertex will acquire Crinetics for $85.00 per share in cash, for a total equity value of approximately $10.0 billion, or approximately $8.8 billion net of estimated cash acquired. The transaction was unanimously approved by both the Vertex and Crinetics Boards of Directors and is anticipated to close in the third quarter of 2026. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260706876183/en/ Crinetics’ marketed medicine, PALSONIFY® (paltusotine), received approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in September 2025. PALSONIFY was recently approved by the European Medicines Agency (EMA) a
In our pressroom you can read all our latest releases, find our press contacts, images, documents and other relevant information about us.
Visit our pressroom