Toyota

Toyota to Invest $500M More in Joby Air Taxis as the Companies Work ‘Side by Side’ in California

by | 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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Plano-Based Toyota Invests in EV Charging Network IONNA to Access 30K Fast-Charging Ports by 2030
by | 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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‘Walk this Way’ Exhibit Tells Stories Through Nearly 200 Years of Women’s Shoes
by | 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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Next Chapter: University of North Texas President Neal Smatresk Announces Plans to Step Down
by | 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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‘Fablets’ and More: How SMU Snagged Lead Agency Role in Federal Texoma Semiconductor Tech Hub

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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Toyota Joins Ford & GM in Adopting Tesla’s North American Charging Standard
by | 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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Dallas Holocaust and Human Rights Museum Partners with DFW School Districts on Classroom Programming
by | 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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Toyota ‘Empact’ Vision Addresses Sustainability, EV Charging Equity in Underserved Communities

by | 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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How Dallas-Fort Worth Has Become a Hotbed of Artificial Intelligence Technology
by | 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.
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Let’s Talk: Toyota, Google Cloud Expand Next-Gen In-Car Voice AI Systems
by | 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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Plano-Based Toyota Partners with the DOE on a $6.5M Megawatt-Scale Fuel Cell Project
by | 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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Local Tech Founders Duke it Out at Digital Fight Club, Capping Off Dallas Startup Week

by | Aug 12, 2022
Ten local founders and innovators sparred in gloves-off debates, "fighting" to win each round.

The fight card included challenges like: Should brands be transparent? Should the government be involved in building the metaverse? And is ESG important? Here are the knockout rounds.
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Fast-Growing ‘People Development’ Software Startup Relocates HQ as It Changes the Game in HR and Leadership Development
by | Jun 28, 2022
Leadr has tripled its revenue by focusing on employee engagement and performance as a natural outcome of developing the whole person.

There's "a real tiredness in the industry" around traditional performance management, says co-founder Chris Heaslip. His startup is on the vanguard of change in manager and employee relationships.
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Sherman Picked for New $5B Silicon Wafer Plant, Bringing 1,500 New Jobs to North Texas
by | Jun 27, 2022
Beating out potential sites in Ohio and South Korea, the city of Sherman was selected today by GlobiTech for a new $5 billion, 3.2 million-square-foot silicon wafer facility. The plant could eventually produce more than 1 million silicon wafers monthly when production begins by 2025. It's Sherman's second big manufacturing win in a month. Just weeks ago, Texas Instruments broke ground in the city on new semiconductor wafer fabrication plants with a potential $30 billion investment.
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Toyota industry veterans Bob Carter, Mike Owens, Tracy Doi, and Zack Hicks will retire this summer.
Toyota Makes Multiple Leadership, Structural Changes to Further Its Mobility Transformation as Four Execs Retire
by | Jun 9, 2022
Four industry stalwarts will retire this summer at Plano-based Toyota North America, leaving a legacy of firsts and innovations. In the wake, the company announced structural changes, new roles, and leadership moves to backfill the positions.

Here’s a rundown of the retiring executives—and who will take up their mantles.
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