Japan’s top automaker Toyota has announced a partnership with U.S. autonomous driving technology company Waymo.

Toyota announced a preliminary partnership with Waymo on Wednesday that could result in the Japanese automaker collaborating with the Alphabet unit on autonomous vehicle technology. Why it matters: As the world's second largest automaker by sales and an industry leader in manufacturing efficiency,

Toyota and other major Japanese firms have poured money into artificial intelligence and autonomous driving for years, but have struggled to keep pace.