Toyota investing $1B in Silicon Valley firm

Toyota is investing $1 billion in a research company it’s setting up in Silicon Valley to develop artificial intelligence and robotics, underlining the Japanese automaker’s determination to lead in futuristic cars that drive themselves and apply the technology to other areas of daily life.

Toyota Motor Corp. President Akio Toyoda said Friday the company will start operating from January 2016, with 200 employees at a Silicon Valley facility near Stanford University. A second facility will be established near Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge.

The investment, which will be spread over five years, comes on top of $50 million Toyota announced earlier for artificial intelligence research at Stanford and MIT.

Toyota said its interest extended beyond autonomous driving, which is starting to be offered by some automakers and being promised by almost all of them. The technology was pointing to a new industry for everyday use, delivering a safer lifestyle overall, it said. share. That’s up from $4.6 billion, or $2,811 per share, in last year’s third quarter.

Berkshire’s revenue grew 15 percent to nearly $59 billion as its non-insurance businesses performed well.

Berkshire holds about 30 percent of the stock in the Kraft Heinz Food Co., and it recorded a $4.4 billion after-tax gain as the result of the merger.

GOVERNMENT year that will end in March by 75 percent, to 5 billion yen ($41 million) from 20 billion yen, reflecting the expense of recalls for defective air bags that affect millions of vehicles globally.

Takata’s financial report capped a week of bad news for the company after at least three major customers, including Honda Motor Co., said they would stop purchasing the types of air bags involved in the recalls.