NTT Plans To Test Autonomous Vehicle Technology And Investment In US Startups

Cruise Origin, an autonomous vehicle that will operate in Tokyo in 2026. (Doc. Honda Global)

JAKARTA - Japan's telecommunications giant, Nippon Telegraph and Telephone (NTT), plans to test driverless vehicle technology by investing in a US startup developing an autonomous driving system.

The startup company in question is May Mobility, which is supported by Toyota Motor. NTT, quoted by Reuters, November 6, has ambitions to start trials with buses and autonomous taxis as soon as 2025, and will invest around 10 billion yen (IDR 1 trillion) in May Mobility startups.

NTT's growing involvement in autonomous vehicle technology was triggered after Honda announced in October that it aims to set up a joint venture with General Motors (GM) and their robotaxi company Cruise and wants to start driverless travel services in Japan in early 2026.

Autonomous Taxis that are starting to get pressed in the United States

Robotaxi has just been operating in Los Angeles, and there have been several demands for their cessation of operations. This growing controversy is taking place faster than what happened in San Francisco.

The Mayor of Los Angeles (LA), Karen Bass, quoted from the Los Angeles Times, November 3, has voiced concern in an open letter to the president of the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC), one of the institutions that has approved robotaxi in San Francisco and Los Angeles.

Karen Bass voiced her refusal to the city's robotaxi operation, citing disruptions suspected by emergency vehicles in San Francisco and the city's lack of adequate input in their operations.

Several activist groups in LA also expressed concern over the large technology that basically conducted experiments on city residents, and on the other hand protested the loss of employment due to automation.

"We are rejecting driverless vehicles on our streets," said LA union leader Yvonne Wheeler, quoted by Autoweek, October 25.

Meanwhile, city council members also voiced their rejection of robotaxi, citing its impact on labor, and raising human concerns of being used as a guinea pig for large technology companies.

It is known, at the end of October, robotaxi Cruise from GM was involved in several incidents in San Francisco that led to a temporary suspension of Cruise's license to operate the driverless fleet, just months after the license was granted.