Photo: Interstellar Technologies

Automotive giant Toyota is investing in Japanese rocket startup Interstellar Technologies as part of its vision for the future of mobility. 

Woven by Toyota (WbyT), the mobility arm of Toyota Motor Corporation, announced the 7 billion yen ($44.3 million) investment into Interstellar on Jan. 7. Akio Toyoda, chairman of the Toyota board of directors, spoke at CES on Jan. 6 about the company’s “Woven City,” a city in Japan designed as a testbed for future mobility technologies. 

WbyT is the lead investor in the first close of Interstellar’s Series F round and is expected to provide additional funding with the second close of the Series F round. WbyT will also provide Interstellar with a corporate director. 

Toyota has collaborated with Interstellar since 2020 through personnel exchanges. Interstellar said this new agreement goes further, and the companies plan to work together to strengthen the supply chain to achieve mass rocket production. 

“Woven by Toyota is the ideal partner to help us evolve our rocket production from one-of-a-kind manufacturing to a scalable supply chain,” Interstellar CEO Takahiro Inagawa said in a statement. “After years of talent exchange since 2020, we are now able to strengthen our collaboration to the next level.” 

Interstellar is working to establish launch capabilities in Japan, which will support the Japanese government’s target to secure a domestic launch capacity of around 30 launches annually by the early 2030s.

“Toyota continues its transformation into a mobility company by embracing challenges in land, sea, and air mobility. Now, we are excited to collaborate with Interstellar Technologies on the mass production of rockets,” commented Woven by Toyota CEO Hajime Kumabe. “This business alliance will leverage the Toyota Group’s extensive manufacturing capabilities and combine our expertise to advance rocket production and further drive mobility transformation.” 

Chairman Toyoda mentioned the investment in rockets during his address at CES. 

“We think of Woven City as a test course for mobility where we can develop any number of solutions,” Toyoda said. “We’re exploring rockets too, because the future of mobility shouldn’t be limited to just Earth — or just one car company for that matter!”