Lyft, Waymo to jointly develop self-driving car tech

Lyft and Waymo have joined hands to develop self-driving car technology, The New York Times reported yesterday. Both had confirmed the deal, which will see Google's former self-driving car unit work along with the ride-hailing company on efforts to offer self-driving to the general population via fleet services.

Waymo recently launched a self-driving technology public pilot in Arizona, where its Chrysler Pacifica minivans that featured in-house developed self-driving tech will pick-up families on-demand. According to commentators, Waymo's service was limited to begin with, but tying up Lyft into the mix will likely help it build out the side of the business that required demand modeling, efficient routing and more.

According to commentators, it is an interesting partnership as it is another piece of the puzzle in addition to Waymo's existing tie-ups with automakers, including Chrysler, and a pending agreement with Honda. Waymo is positioning itself as the technology partner on the autonomy side, an essential service provider.

Meanwhile, Uber is also entering into similar partnerships, with an open programme for OEMs, the first of which was Mercedes-Benz parent Daimler.

The Lyft-Waymo deal called for the companies to work together to bring autonomous vehicle technology into the mainstream through pilot projects and product development.

''Waymo holds today's best self-driving technology, and collaborating with them will accelerate our shared vision of improving lives with the world's best transportation,'' a Lyft spokeswoman said in a statement.

A Waymo spokesman said, ''Lyft's vision and commitment to improving the way cities move will help Waymo's self-driving technology reach more people, in more places.''

The partnership underscored the fluid nature of relationships in the self-driving-car sector; from technology companies to automakers to component manufacturers, dozens of players have been eying a slice of an autonomous vehicle market that many believe will ultimately be a multi-billion-dollar industry.

The deal has competitive implications for Uber, the world's biggest ride-hailing company, which recently had to face several workplace and legal problems. Lyft is a distant No 2 to Uber among ride-hailing services in the US, and the two companies are bitter rivals.