Toyota

The Japanese carmaker, now a serious player in AI-driven robotics.

Toyota is the world’s largest carmaker, and through its research arm it has moved into robotics and AI. It spun out and backs Walden Robotics, which builds general-purpose robots for factory work.

Its interest is a reminder that a lot of practical AI is not chatbots but machines doing physical tasks, and that established industrial companies, not just tech startups, are driving that.