--- title: "Toilet Maker Spikes in Value as It Flushes Money Into AI" description: "Japanese toilet maker Toto is looking to cash in on the AI hype by announcing a major investment in its semiconductor business." date: "2026-05-01" modified: "2026-05-01" authors: - name: "Victor Tangermann" job_title: "Senior Editor" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor" url: "https://futurism.com/artificial-intelligence/toilet-maker-toto-ai" categories: - "Artificial Intelligence" - "Ethics" --- # Toilet Maker Spikes in Value as It Flushes Money Into AI ![Japanese toilet maker Toto is looking to cash in on the AI hype by announcing a major investment in its semiconductor business.]() *Toto / Futurism* Last month, failing tech bro shoe company Allbirds made the [baffling announcement]() that it was pivoting to AI — three magic words that turned the waning business into Silicon Valley's latest obsession overnight. Now Japanese toilet maker Toto, which has been at the epicenter of the country's — and the rest of the world's — [bidet revolution](), is looking to cash in as well. Toto isn't exactly *pivoting* to AI — it's more like a doubling down. The company unveiled plans last week to ramp up existing production of semiconductor components, an attention-catching "AI play" that sent its shares soaring by 18 percent to their highest levels since 2021, as the [*Financial Times* reports](). In all, the company announced it was investing $190 million to strengthen chip production and boost research and development. While it's far better known for its high-tech toilets — which not only light up, clean and dry behinds, open and close automatically, spray deodorizer, and flush on their own — Toto is also the world's second-largest producer of electrostatic chucks, a critical component that holds NAND computer flash storage chips in place during manufacturing. In large part thanks to the massive surge in interest for chips driven by AI, Toto's semiconductor component sales now account for more than half of its profits, according to the *FT*. Meanwhile its toilet business is starting to plunge, thanks to adhesive and plastic shortages triggered by the ongoing Middle East energy crisis. The company was forced to halt new orders in mid-April as a result. Fortunately, the ongoing AI hype cycle could keep it afloat, at least for the time being. **More on pivoting to AI:** [*Allbirds Stock Now Crashing as Reality Sets in About Its Delusional AI Pivot*]() ## Author I've been at Futurism since 2017, where my role has evolved to encompass design, writing, and increasingly editing. I've always been fascinated by space exploration and advanced transportation, which I've leaned into by interviewing luminaries in those fields while closely following the dimensions of policy and regulation that allow next-generation projects to succeed -- or, sometimes, to fail. I'm also keenly interested in the effects of generative AI on society, policies, and democratic institutions, as well as clean energy, physics and biology, and the vagaries of tech leadership. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Ars Technica, Gizmodo, PC Magazine, Jalopnik, Fox News, and the New York Post. I spent my childhood living in locations including Manila, the Philippines, and Geneva, Switzerland, attended McGill University, and now live in Toronto, Canada. Before Futurism I worked at AskMen and a small photography studio. In my free time, I'm an avid gardener, foodie, and craft beer lover, as well as a maker of artisanal hot pepper sauces. I have a magnificent dog named Freida. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()