Microsoft has agreed that to license a batch of its connected car patents to Toyota. The announcement of the team up came on Wednesday last week.
Microsoft teams up with Japanese car manufacturer for better connected vehicles. According to automotive website Automotive News, the Redmond-based tech giant will be licensing its patented vehicle technologies to the Japanese car manufacturer. Microsoft's move is part of its plan to become a major player in the young market of connected cars.
The technologies that Microsoft will be licensing to car manufacturer include an operating system, voice recognition, gesture control, artificial intelligence, and gesture control. The agreement between the two companies is not exclusive as the tech company plans to work with other car manufacturers in the future.
Talking about the agreement, Microsoft executive Erich Andersen said, "Microsoft invests $11.4 billion annually in research and development and for more than 30 years has been developing innovative technologies that are powering today's connected car experiences. When you look across telematics, infotainment, safety and other systems in today's connected cars, you find Microsoft technologies and innovation."
Andersen further added, "Microsoft doesn't make cars. We are working closely with today's car companies to help them meet customer demands, and we're pleased today to announce the licensing of our patented technology to our partner, Toyota."
Executive Tokuhisa Nomura said that it is an exciting time for the auto industry. Nomura also said that its partnership with Microsoft was crucial for the car manufacturer "to create the best, most immersive connected car experiences."
It should be noted that this isn't the first time that the two companies worked together. The Japanese car manufacturer partnered up with the tech company for its Azure-based Big Data Center. Toyota actually uses Microsoft's cloud computing services to provide services of their own that aim to individualize customer experiences.
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