Southfield’s Denso Opens Seattle Innovation Lab

Japan’s Denso, which is a global mobility supplier and has its North American headquarters in Southfield, has opened the Seattle Innovation Lab that will strengthen the company’s development of connected technologies and advance its mobility as a service platform.
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Denso North America headquarters
Denso is opening the Seattle Innovation Lab, which will focus on mobility as a service. Pictured is Denso’s North American headquarters in Southfield. // Photo courtesy of Denso

Japan’s Denso, which is a global mobility supplier and has its North American headquarters in Southfield, has opened the Seattle Innovation Lab that will strengthen the company’s development of connected technologies and advance its mobility as a service platform.

The lab supports Denso’s recent expansion into software-based solutions to complement its hardware expertise and further propels its exploration of new business domains, such as mobility as a service, to contribute to safer and more sustainable transportation solutions.

“Throughout Denso’s 70 years, we’ve worked hard to reinvent our solutions and maintain a leadership role in the automotive industry,” says Yoshifumi Kato, senior executive director of the Engineering Research and Development Center for Denso Corp. “A large part of that is investing in R&D.”

Mobility as a service involves the integration of various forms of transportation services that are available on-demand through connected technologies. Denso is developing a cloud computing technology that collects and analyzes data from carsharing fleets and shares it with mobility service providers to help improve fleet management.

At the Seattle lab, the company will collaborate with the city’s technology companies and universities to further develop its cloud computing technology, including edge computing for automated driving and its platform development for mobility as a service systems.

“Our Seattle Innovation Lab will play a key role in shaping Denso’s technology for current and new customers, regionally and around the globe,” says Kenichiro Ito, senior executive officer for Denso Corp. and CEO of Denso’s North American Headquarters. “As we continue to innovate in emerging fields, we are changing what is possible for the future of transportation and mobility and setting the course for how we achieve it.”

Denso’s strategy of enhancing research and development worldwide has included the recent opening of a similar Innovation Lab in Montreal, Canada. It is focused on advanced technology such as artificial intelligence. The company’s other satellite R&D locations are in Finland, Israel, and San Francisco, Calif.

“Denso’s advanced R&D approach integrates agile development on a global scale,” says Bill Foy, senior vice president of engineering at Denso. “In North America, we’re partnering with innovative thinkers to execute on technologies and products that will define mobility for years to come.”

Denso is a $48.3 billion company and develops technology and components for nearly every vehicle make and model on the road today. It has 221 facilities in 35 countries and more than 170,000 employees. The company employs more than 17,000 people in the U.S. across 13 states.