Microsoft Corp. announced a new patent licensing agreement with Toyota Corp. that includes broad coverage for connected car technologies. Today’s agreement builds on Toyota and Microsoft’s strong partnership, which includes their collaboration on the Azure-based Toyota Big Data Center.
“The connected car represents an enormous opportunity for the auto industry, and at the core it’s a software challenge,” says Peggy Johnson, executive vice president of Business Development at Microsoft. “Our mission is to empower car makers with technology that allows them to focus on building even better driving experiences for their customers.”
“This is an exciting time in the industry, and we believe that to create the best, most immersive connected car experiences, automotive makers should partner with technology leaders like Microsoft,” said Tokuhisa Nomura, executive general manager of Toyota’s Advanced R&D and Engineering Company. “Through this patent partnership between Toyota and Microsoft, we will be able to innovate faster to deliver new, contextual and immersive experiences to our customers.”
(Photo source: Youtube screengrab – @microsoft)
