A new £8.4 billion futuristic city is set to welcome its first residents this year.
Toyota announced that phase 1 for its Toyota Woven city is completed at CES 2025, one of the world’s biggest tech event.
Designed by Bjarke Ingels Group and located at the base of Mount Fuji in Japan, the futuristic city will be home to investors, startups, and researchers and a place for people to invent and develop new ideas and products.
Toyota shared that the city’s aim is to drive innovation and shape a better tomorrow. External startups, entrepreneurs, universities, and research institutions will be invited to visit Woven through an accelerator program beginning in the summer of this year.
Woven City is set to officially launch in autumn 2025. Approximately 360 residents are expected to live in the city as part of the first phase, however the number is expected to go up to 2,000 residents.
Speaking at the CES conference, Akio Toyoda, Chairman of Toyota Motor Corperation shared that they see the “test course” city a place where “any number of solutions” can be developed, including “interactive pet robots” and “wheelchair racecars” and “drones that escort you home safely at night.”
He added: “In fact we’re currently developping robots that learn everyday tasks through camera assited, human demonstration.”
The first 100 residents primarily Toyota and Woven by Toyota (WbyT) staff and families will take part in co-creation activites, which will then expand to external investors and their families.
Residents, investors and visitors will be known as “Weavers” contributing to the building of a “more flourishing community” of invidiuals who share a passion for “the expansion of mobility”.
While visitors will be limited to related parties, the company does have plans to welcome the general public to participate in the co-creation activities starting in 2026.