Gill Pratt, chief executive officer of Toyota Research Institute, speaks at the 2016 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas in January 2016. Toyota established a $1 billion Silicon Valley beachhead when it created the Toyota Research Institute in 2015 to focus on next-generation mobility, robotics and advanced materials. Now it's furthering that effort with a dedicated venture fund focused on innovative startups working on complementary tech solutions. The automotive giant on Tuesday launched Toyota AI Ventures, with initial funding of $100 million. The first three companies its backing are Israel-based Intuition Robotics; SlamCore of the U.K.; and Nauto, a Silicon Valley-based firm.