Toyota Mobility Foundation Unveils Sixteen Semi-Finalists for City Architecture for Tomorrow Challenge

• Over 90 teams of innovators from more than 20 countries submitted innovative data-driven solutions to improve mobility and city planning in Kuala Lumpur
• Selected semi-finalists include teams from Australia, Brazil, Germany, India, Malaysia, Netherlands, Singapore, United Kingdom, United States and will receive up to $5,000 grant each to develop Proofs of Concept of their solutions 

KUALA LUMPUR, MALAYSIA - Media OutReach - 14 August 2020 - Sixteen cutting-edge solution ideas were unveiled as semi-finalists for the City Architecture for Tomorrow Challenge (CATCH). The Toyota Mobility foundation (TMF) launched CATCH in February 2020 with a global call for dynamic, intelligent and data-driven solutions to address mobility and city planning challenges in Kuala Lumpur.

During the application period which ended 30^th June 2020, more than 90 global teams submitted their innovative, deep tech ideas to reimagine city planning through the effective usage of data. After careful consideration, TMF has identified the following sixteen teams as semi-finalists, best suited to CATCH's problem statement and the five assessment criteria of creativity, desirability, feasibility, sustainability and technicality. These teams will be asked to further develop their ideas into proofs of concept (POC) and at this stage will each receive a grant of up to $5,000 for financial support. Furthermore, they will have access to datasets from public and private agency partners to CATCH which will help them identify daily mobility challenges in Kuala Lumpur.

Pras Ganesh, Program Director of TMF commented: "We are thrilled to announce 16 world-class ideas that represent the data-driven future of sustainable and efficient city planning and mobility. We look forward to working with these semi-finalists to advance their ideas towards realistic and beneficial proofs of concept."

The sixteen semi-finalists are as follows:

Conceptualizing Data-Driven Innovations to Reality

TMF will continue to work together with strategic partners including Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL), the Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC) and its data partners to support the semi-finalists to enhance their ideas until the selection of finalists in October, through financial grant support, mobility data, and mentorship provided by experts and judges supporting this program.

Through CATCH, TMF hopes to unlock human-centric, data-driven innovations to further 'Mobility for All' for residents of Kuala Lumpur.

To find out more visit www.tmf-catch.org/

About Toyota Mobility Foundation

The Toyota Mobility Foundation was established in August 2014 to support the development of a more mobile society. The Foundation aims to support strong and equitable mobility systems. It utilizes Toyota's expertise in technology, safety, and the environment, working in partnership with universities, government, non-profit organizations, research institutions and other organizations to address mobility issues around the world. Solutions till date have aimed at resolving urban transportation problems, expanding the utilization of multi-modal mobility, and developing solutions for future generations.