Toyota is looking to expand the scope of its blockchain operations with a new personal ID and vehicle ID platform that has been developed in collaboration with blockchain start-up BUIDL.
The personal ID platform can be used by corporate entities to manage points, employee benefits and digital certificate issuance, whereas the vehicle ID platform can be used to manage vehicle registration, maintenance records, ownership records and more.
BUIDL, established in 2018 and acquired by Securitize last year, supports many security token projects across Japan and have consistently grown its revenues and commanded a large market share since inception, whereas Toyota has shown interest in pursuing blockchain-related business models in order to use the technology in fraud-reducing digital ad-buying tools has seen it increase its website traffic by 21 per cent.
Last month, Toyota invested $400m in Pony.ai – a provider of self-driving vehicle technology. The latter is focusing on deepening and expanding its collaboration with Toyota in mobility services. Their collaboration would allow deeper integration of Pony.ai’s self-driving vehicle system with Toyota’s robust vehicle platforms and technologies. Both firms are also looking beyond the vehicle itself to explore further possibilities on mobility services and deliver on their shared vision of a safe and sustainable mobility future. They will focus on offering meaningful societal benefit by leveraging the technologies, expertise, and services of each company.
Toyota’s interest in blockchain technology has been long-standing. In the past, Toyota led the automotive sector’s first ever blockchain-powered ad campaign, along with blockchain advertising analytics company Lucidity, and international ad firm Saatchi & Saatchi. The main purpose of this collaboration was to introduce transparency into Toyota’s digital ad campaign buy, removing wasted spend. In 2017, the Toyota Research Institute (TRI) collaborated with MIT Media Lab and other industry partners to see if distributed ledgers can accelerate the development of autonomous driving technology.
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