Waymo and Lyft have come together to sign a self-driving vehicle partnership deal that will help put both companies on the autonomous technology map.
Lyft ranks as the nation’s second most-profitable transportation network company right after their top competitor, Uber. Their partnership with Waymo, Google’s self-driving car unit that was announced in December 2016, comes to no surprise as the race toward self-driving vehicles amplifies.
Since launching, Waymo has rolled out a test ride program with over 600 self-driving minivans across Phoenix, Arizona.
The partnership deal signed between Lyft and Waymo establishes the companies’ ability to begin working together with efforts of initiating the use of self-driving cars into mainstream functions. Waymo and Lyft will join forces to launch pilot projects and collaborate on product development endeavors for their autonomous vehicle services.
“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.
Uber currently holds the number one spot for ride-sharing services in the U.S. and has also been working diligently on developing a self-driving car fleet of their own.
Waymo has recently filed a lawsuit against Uber Technologies accusing the ride-hailing service giant of using stolen trade secrets to advance development on their self-driving vehicle operating systems.
Although Uber has denied such allegations, it is only natural for up and coming competitors of the transportation technology company, such as Lyft and Waymo to become close allies.
“Lyft’s vision and commitment to improving the way cities move will help Waymo’s self-driving technology reach more people, in more places,” said a Waymo spokesperson.
Lyft currently offers services in over 300 cities across the United States and has raised a total of $600 million at a $7.5 billion valuation just last month.
However, the deal between Lyft and Waymo has not been deemed exclusive by any means. Lyft will continue to hold onto their current self-driving partnership with U.S. automakers General Motors while they begin to work alongside Waymo developers.
GM’s partnership with Lyft includes plans to test out thousands of self-driving cars starting early 2018. Although Lyft has never launched their own exclusive autonomous vehicle program, they have counted on GM to help execute further development and testing for driverless cars.
Waymo had also pursued its own collaborations before signing a deal with Lyft. In May 2016, Waymo announced its partnership with Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, where they ordered a total of 100 Pacifica hybrid minivans to begin testing out autonomous technology on. They are also reportedly in talks with Honda about possibilities of embedding driverless technology in Honda test vehicles.
A Waymo-Lyft project launch date has yet to be announced.