Yamaha Motor makes U.S. tech investment
Yamaha Motor Co., Ltd. announced that it has made an investment of $2 million into Silicon Valley startup company Veniam. This investment represents the first opportunity explored by the subsidiary for new business development Yamaha Motor Ventures & Laboratory Silicon Valley Inc. (YMVSV), which began operations in Silicon Valley in August 2015.
Veniam is engaged in service provision and communication hardware development and sale regarding wireless mesh networking that is suited to communication between moving vehicles, and between moving vehicles and stationary objects. Wireless mesh networking is a lattice (mesh)-shaped communication network formed by wireless devices communicating with each other.
Veniam has developed and commercialized algorithms which enable the determination of communication routes in wireless mesh networks for moving vehicles, which has been difficult to achieve to date. It has already begun operations in Portugal, etc., mainly with transportation operators, and in addition to communication services, is rolling out its all-in-one solutions business including communication devices, data management, and security.
Yamaha Motor will link to planning and development of new technologies, products, and services related to “connected mobility” through the investment in Veniam.
Moreover, Yamaha Motor will continue to take initiatives through YMVSV which lead to new business model development such as theme exploration/fostering and promotion of commercialization for new business development, and will continue to make proactive strategic investments in promising startup companies.
