How TomTom is plotting a route into US driverless car industry

TomTom’s highly-automated driving, or HAD, maps can been viewed as a pitch to US automakers to get them to pick TomTom as their map supplier. TomTom CEO Harold Goddijn openly admitted last month he was looking to join forces with companies in the automated car industry. “TomTom is more excited than ever about the prospect of partnering with members of the HAD ecosystem to expedite the innovation that will transform the automotive industry and the way we drive,” Goddijn said in a statement. A partnership with an automaker would also bolster TomTom’s collaboration with Uber. The mobile ride-hailing firm currently sponsors driverless car research at Carnegie Mellon’s robotics institute in Pittsburgh, but there are no details yet on who would produce Uber-backed automated vehicles.