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Toyota
Toyota has received a newly granted patent (USPTO #12337686) for a system that ties NFTs to real-world vehicles. The tech lets users “own” and interact with physical cars using AR or VR headsets—linking digital tokens to specific vehicles and enabling features like choreographed shows of moving vehicles triggered by NFT access. Invented by a Texas- and California-based team—Charan S. Lota (Frisco), David Tsai (Irvine), and Will Hargis (Celina)—the patent is assigned to Toyota Connected North America, based in Plano. [Composite illustration: Sources, USPTO Patent #12337686, Fig. 4; Anna Musatova/istockphoto; Quincy Preston/DI]
Patented: Toyota’s NFT System for Turning Virtual Car Moves into Real-World Actions and More North Texas Inventive Activity
by Dallas Innovates | Staff Report | Jul 30, 2025
Dallas-Fort Worth ranked No. 8 for patent activity out of 250 metros for the week of June 24 with a total of 151 patents granted.
by Nicole Ward, DRC Data Journalist |
May 15, 2025
The eye-opening conversation was a platform for complicated subjects that impact every business.
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by David Seeley |
Apr 16, 2025
Germany-based Cognity's AI agents connect brands like Mercedes-Benz, Toyota, Nestlé, and DHL with customers worldwide. Now the company has departed the city by the bay to place its U.S. HQ in the Dallas suburb of Plano, lauding the region's "perfect mix of innovation, energy, and opportunity."
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by Dallas Innovates | Staff Report |
Feb 26, 2025
Dallas-Fort Worth ranked No. 10 for patent activity out of 250 metros for the week of Jan. 21 with a total of 138 patents granted.
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Joby Aviation's electric air taxi [Photo: Joby]
Toyota to Invest $500M More in Joby Air Taxis as the Companies Work ‘Side by Side’ in California
by David Seeley | Oct 4, 2024
Toyota, whose North American HQ is in Plano, took its eyes off the road long enough to scan the skies and invest $500 million more in California-based Joby, for a total of $894 million it's invested to date. The investment is aimed at "realizing the two companies’ shared vision of air mobility," Toyota said.
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by Lance Murray |
Jul 10, 2024
IONNA is a joint venture founded by eight of the world's largest automakers, including BMW, General Motors, Honda, Hyundai, Kia, Mercedes-Benz, Stellantis, and now Toyota as well. The company said that by 2030, it aims to offer 30 battery-electric EV models across its Toyota and Lexus brands.
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by Lance Murray |
Feb 8, 2024
Opening this Friday, the exhibition at the Dallas Holocaust and Human Rights Museum offers a pathway to stories centered around "women's labor activism, the fight for suffrage and equal rights, the sexual revolution, and more."
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by Quincy Preston |
Feb 6, 2024
Neal Smatresk's decade at UNT sparked big changes and growth, boosting its standing in academics and research. From "record-breaking enrollment" to "making UNT the highest-ranked Tier One institution in the North Texas region," his tenure marks transformation across multiple fronts.
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SMU's Dallas Hall. [Courtesy photo]
‘Fablets’ and More: How SMU Snagged Lead Agency Role in Federal Texoma Semiconductor Tech Hub
by Quincy Preston and David Seeley | Oct 24, 2023
On Monday, the Biden administration unveiled 31 U.S. Tech Hubs in the U.S., including the SMU-led Texoma Semiconductor Hub. Here's a deep dive into how Dallas landed its second federal tech hub in two months, who's involved, and what it could mean for the region.
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by Lance Murray |
Oct 20, 2023
Plano-based Toyota Motor North America said it will incorporate the NACS ports into certain Toyota and Lexus BEVs starting in 2025, including the all-new, three-row, battery-electric Toyota SUV that will be assembled at Toyota Motor Manufacturing Kentucky.
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by David Seeley |
Sep 25, 2023
The three-year project will focus on site improvements at the park, along with increasing access to environmental education for local youth. An event held at the park Saturday marked the 30th annual National Public Lands Day—giving local community members a chance to volunteer and to let their voices be heard on the park's future.
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Dallas Holocaust and Human Rights Museum Partners with DFW School Districts on Classroom Programming
by Lance Murray |
Aug 18, 2023
The "Upstander Partnerships" with Dallas ISD and Coppell ISD allow the districts to integrate the museum's history-informed civics and citizenship education via a "consistent and engaging" cross-curricular learning plan for grades K-12. The goal: teaching students to be upstanders, not bystanders, when bullying or discrimination occurs.
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[Photo: FooTToo/istockphoto]
Toyota ‘Empact’ Vision Addresses Sustainability, EV Charging Equity in Underserved Communities
by Lance Murray | Apr 19, 2023
The Empact program seeks to address charging access, affordability, and carbon emission reduction. Plano-based Toyota North America said that Empact is based on the combination of 'environmental impact' and 'empowering action,' representing the efforts Toyota is making to design a more equitable and inclusive deployment strategy.
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by Glenn Hunter |
Feb 16, 2023
"AI now is where the web was in the mid- to late-'90s," Sentiero Ventures' David Evans says. And North Texas is becoming central to the AI revolution, he and other local tech leaders contend. DFW's role as an AI hub has been burnished by its tech workforce, the breadth and diversity of its industries, its thriving startup community, and its wealth of AI-oriented universities and research institutions. Most important of all, though, is the region's status as a magnet for Fortune 500 companies, many of which are eager to partner with AI's local pioneers.
Here's what leading North Texas experts have to say.
Here's what leading North Texas experts have to say.
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by Lance Murray |
Oct 11, 2022
Plano-based Toyota North America is expanding its partnership with Google Cloud to enhance AI-based speech services in Toyota and Lexus vehicles. Audio control is now just a voice command away, processed by in-vehicle voice AI.
And a future Speech On-Device offering could offer a range of natural speech functions without even using the cloud—eliminating "dead zones" and tunnel dropouts.
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by David Seeley |
Aug 24, 2022
Fuel cells for cars? Think bigger—because Toyota sure is. After developing hydrogen fuel cell technology for over 25 years, mostly aimed at carbon-zero vehicles, the company is scaling up the tech for uses far beyond cars. Now it's working with the U.S. government to build a system that can add energy to the grid, power things like data centers, and more.
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![Erica Kosemund, Chief Brand Officer, Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma; Gillian Breidenbach, Chief Partnership Officer, North Texas FWC Organizing Committee; Chief Gary Batton, Chief of Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma; Monica Paul, Executive Director of Dallas Sports Commission and President of North Texas FWC Organizing Committee; John Hobbs, Senior Executive Officer of Communications, Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma; and Heidi Grant, Senior Executive Officer of Commerce Administration, Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma, celebrate Choctaw Casinos & Resorts becoming an Official Dallas World Cup 2026 Host City Supporter. [Photo: North Texas FWC Organizing Committee/Choctaw Casinos & Resorts]](https://s24806.pcdn.co/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/FIFA-Choctaw-dec-2025.jpg)
