Microsoft licenses car networking technology patents to Toyota and seeks cooperation with other automakers

According to a recent report by Automotive News, in the intellectual property agreement signed between Microsoft and automakers, Microsoft stated that it would allow Toyota to use some of its Internet of Vehicles patents.

According to reports, Toyota has obtained the right to use some of Microsoft's automotive technologies, including operating systems, voice recognition, gesture commands, artificial intelligence and network security tools. This is not an exclusive technology for Toyota, and Microsoft said it hopes to establish cooperation with other automakers. As for the specific content of the transaction, the two companies did not disclose it.

Erich Andersen, corporate vice president of Microsoft's intellectual property team, said, "Microsoft does not make cars, but we have close working relationships with automakers to help them meet the needs of their users."

"Toyota's patent collaboration with Microsoft will accelerate our development efforts to provide new, realistic experiences with context to our users," Tokuhisa Nomura, executive general manager of Toyota's Advanced Research Center, said in a statement.

Although Microsoft has also collaborated with other automakers to share technology, this agreement with Toyota allows Toyota to have broad use rights to Microsoft's Internet of Vehicles patents.

Microsoft's intellectual property team has been operating since 2003 and currently has 1,200 authorized partners. The scale of the cooperation with Toyota is the largest scale of its cooperation with an automaker. As early as last year, the two sides began to cooperate in the field of connected car technology.

Last year, Microsoft and Toyota jointly established Toyota Connected as Toyota's data science center. Since its establishment, the research center has adopted Microsoft's cloud computing platform and is committed to providing services that meet user needs.

As a winner of Toutiao's Qingyun Plan and Baijiahao's Bai+ Plan, the 2019 Baidu Digital Author of the Year, the Baijiahao's Most Popular Author in the Technology Field, the 2019 Sogou Technology and Culture Author, and the 2021 Baijiahao Quarterly Influential Creator, he has won many awards, including the 2013 Sohu Best Industry Media Person, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Beijing Third Place, the 2015 Guangmang Experience Award, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Finals Third Place, and the 2018 Baidu Dynamic Annual Powerful Celebrity.