UPDATED 21:55 EDT / MARCH 23 2017

EMERGING TECH

Toyota signs up for Microsoft’s new connected car tech licensing program

Microsoft Corp. wants a bigger slice of the connected-car market, offering a new program that allows vehicle manufacturers to license the company’s technology in their vehicles.

The first to take advantage of the new offering is Japanese auto giant Toyota Motor Corp., which has signed a deal that gives it access to navigation, entertainment and voice recognition technology that Microsoft has developed.

Full details on the deal, such as how much and exactly how Toyota intends to use the licensed technology, was not made clear. The company said only that access to Microsoft’s technology will enable them to “innovate faster to deliver new, contextual and immersive experiences to our customers.”

Notably, Toyota is already a “valued partner” of Microsoft through Toyota Connected. That program serves as a data science hub for Toyota’s global operations and supports a range of consumer, business and government-facing initiatives.

On its newly launched auto licensing page, Microsoft has a long list of technologies available under the program, including Windows, Wi-Fi and mobile connectivity, sensors, Kinect for gesture computing, its Cortana voice-recognition system and artificial intelligence.

The shift to allow licensing of its software is a step in a different direction for the tech giant after three years of pushing its Windows-for-the-car solution without much success. Microsoft has, however, partnered with other automakers to provide customized car versions of Windows, with Ford, Kia, BMW, Nissan and Fiat all developing vehicles running Microsoft software.

Microsoft appears to be quite content not to build its own self-driving car technology versus providing the software that assists in such vehicles, in stark contrast to rival Google Inc.

“The connected car represents an enormous opportunity for the auto industry, and at the core it’s a software challenge,” Microsoft Executive Vice President of Business Development Peggy Johnson said in a statement. “Our mission is to empower car makers with technology that allows them to focus on building even better driving experiences for their customers.”

Photo: Toyota Europe/Flickr

A message from John Furrier, co-founder of SiliconANGLE:

Your vote of support is important to us and it helps us keep the content FREE.

One click below supports our mission to provide free, deep, and relevant content.  

Join our community on YouTube

Join the community that includes more than 15,000 #CubeAlumni experts, including Amazon.com CEO Andy Jassy, Dell Technologies founder and CEO Michael Dell, Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger, and many more luminaries and experts.

“TheCUBE is an important partner to the industry. You guys really are a part of our events and we really appreciate you coming and I know people appreciate the content you create as well” – Andy Jassy

THANK YOU