DENSO Corp. and Toyota Motor Corporation today agreed to establish a joint venture for research and advanced development of in-vehicle semiconductors.

The two companies will study the details and aim to establish the new company in April 2020 with a capitalization of 50 million yen ($458,968) and about 500 employees.

In June 2018, DENSO and Toyota agreed to consolidate the electronic components production and development functions to DENSO. Based on this agreement, they have been working to achieve a speedy and competitive production and development system.

DENSO has decided to establish the new company for research and advanced development of in-vehicle semiconductors, and will establish a stronger system for R&D of semiconductors. DENSO has agreed to accept equity participation from Toyota for the new company to accelerate the speed of development by taking full advantage of Toyota's knowledge from a mobility viewpoint.

The new company will conduct research on the basic structure and processing method of next-generation semiconductors and develop electronic components by implementing semiconductors, such as power modules for electric vehicles and periphery monitoring sensors for automated vehicles, thereby contributing to creating the future of mobility.