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Toyota is all set to invest $1 Billion in a research company that it plans to start in the Silicon Valley. The purpose of this research company is to expand artificial intelligence and robotics. This upcoming facility is a sign of Japanese carmaker's fondness to be leaders in the futuristic cars that will be self driven. Once this technology has been successfully applied to the vehicles, it will be implemented in other areas too. According to President of Toyota Motor Corp, Akio Toyoda, the company will be operational from January 2016 with 200 employee strength of 200 and will be located near Stanford University. A second facility will also be planned sometime soon which will be situated near MIT in Cambridge. This investment will be spread across 5-year period with an initial investment of $50 Million for artificial intelligence, as has been announced earlier, reports AOL.

This company will be called as Toyota Research Institute and will work to bridge the gap between basic science and commercial engineering. The facility will have a laboratory close to Stanford University and another one close to MIT. Artificial intelligence for many years has failed to produce encouraging results. However, with Siri, Apple's leading personal assistant system, the faith in AI has been reinforced. There have also been rapid improvements that have been witnesses in the self-driving technology found in the vehicles, Reports NY Times

The facility will be headed by Gill Pratt as a CEO, a former MIT professor and also a former official at DARPA (Defense Advanced Projects Research Agency). The research institute will begin as a 5-year initiative with a $1 Billion investment at the foothold of Silicon Valley, reports Digital Trends. Pratt said, "We want to create cars that are both safer and incredibly fun to drive," He further explained that he foresees a car that comes equipped with a "guardian angel" as sensors to help guide and protect the drivers.