Toyota Motor Corporation (Toyota) and Woven by Toyota, Inc. (WbyT) today announced the official launch of Toyota Woven City (Woven City) in Susono City, Japan.
The project was first unveiled in 2020 and has since been jointly developed by the two companies. To mark the occasion, Toyota and WbyT hosted a launch event in Shizuoka prefecture, Japan, with key stakeholders. With residents beginning to move in and partner companies starting co-creation, Woven City takes its first steps as a real-world test course for mobility and a key driver of Toyota’s transformation into a mobility company.
Two types of participants are central to the project:
Inventors
These are 20 enterprises, startups, entrepreneurs, research institutions, and other innovators developing and testing products and services in Woven City. By combining Toyota’s manufacturing expertise, WbyT’s advanced software capabilities, and the individual strengths of each Inventor, Woven City seeks to foster Kakezan — a Japanese concept of ‘multiplication’, where innovation and societal value emerge from converging ideas and capabilities.
Among the Inventors, singer-songwriter Singer-songwriter Naoto Inti Raymi will join as the first artist, leading sound-related Kakezan co-creation and bringing a new creative dimension to the project. He produced the Woven City Anthem and the project’s audio logo.
Woven City launched its accelerator programme on 8 September with an open call for Inventors worldwide to propose ideas for Kakezan co-creation, beginning with the Woven City Challenge: Hack the Mobility competition. Applications are open until October 14, 2025.
Weavers – residents and visitors
Woven City residents and visitors, known as Weavers, will play a vital role in shaping new, meaningful innovations by experiencing the products and services firsthand and providing feedback. Since September 2025, several Toyota Group employees and their families have begun living in Woven City as the first Weavers, with Phase 1 expected to accommodate approximately 300 people. General visitors are planned to be welcomed in 2026.
To celebrate the official launch and mark the start of life at Woven City, Toyota and WbyT today hosted the Woven City Official Launch: Weaving the Future — Day 01 event bringing together the first community of Inventors, Weavers, and partners. At the event, leaders from both companies expressed gratitude to everyone who has supported the Woven City vision and participated in the challenge to drive the future of movement and enhance well-being for all. Also at today’s event, Naoto Inti Raymi debuted the anthem Woven City.
Akio Toyoda, Chairman of Toyota Motor Corporation and Master Weaver of Woven City said: “What we will spark here at Woven City is Kakezan (multiplication). No single company can create meaningful Kakezan on its own; it takes at least two. And the more we come together, the greater the impact of Kakezan. So let’s gather our efforts, and with them our smiles, so they can multiply and spread without end. When you think about it that way, with smiles, doesn’t it feel like we really can weave a brighter future together?”
Since announcing its ambition to become a mobility company at CES 2018 and unveiling the Woven City concept at CES 2020, Toyota has steadily advanced from vision to reality by building a community of like-minded collaborators. Through Kakezan co-creation in Woven City, Toyota and WbyT aim to develop products and services that extend beyond the city to empower lives in Japan and around the world.
