Toyota Partners with Avalanche to Develop Blockchain-Enabled Robotaxis in Japan
Toyota’s Blockchain Lab has joined forces with Avalanche to design blockchain-powered robotaxis in Japan, aiming to reshape the country’s mobility infrastructure.
The collaboration centres on the Mobility Orchestration Network (MON), a proof-of-concept platform that leverages Avalanche’s multichain system and Interchain Messaging (ICM) technology.
The MON is built to serve as a comprehensive framework that manages multiple aspects of vehicle operations—from financing and insurance to ride-sharing, carbon credit tracking, and even secondary market ownership transfers.
By creating a transparent, on-chain system, Toyota and Avalanche envision a future where fleets of autonomous robotaxis can be operated, financed, and monitored without the inefficiencies of traditional intermediaries.
Roi Hirata, head of Japan at Ava Labs, emphasised that blockchain introduces new possibilities for mobility entrepreneurship.
Through on-chain fundraising and leasing models, investors could finance fleets and track performance entirely on the blockchain. “The payments, the leasing—you can actually launch your own robotaxi service by raising funds on-chain with tokenised securities,” Hirata explained, highlighting how decentralisation reduces barriers to market entry.
Despite its promise, adoption hinges on coordination with manufacturers and regulators. Hirata acknowledged that integrating manufacturers remains a major challenge due to differing national vehicle record systems and regulatory requirements. Aligning these records on a blockchain, he noted, is critical for scaling robotaxi operations globally.
Beyond robotaxis, MON illustrates a broader vision of tokenised mobility, where vehicles themselves become digital assets that can be traded, financed, and tracked on decentralised platforms.
Avalanche’s growing ecosystem reinforces this ambition. Recently, its network surpassed four billion transactions, while projects like Grove—backed by Steakhouse Financial and supported by $373 billion asset manager Janus Henderson—are moving to tokenise $250 million worth of real-world assets (RWAs) on Avalanche.
The Toyota–Avalanche partnership not only experiments with blockchain-enabled robotaxis but also signals a step toward mainstreaming blockchain in real mobility markets. If successful, it could transform how people view transportation, vehicle ownership, and investment in the decades ahead.
