Tech giants team-up
Alphabet Inc’s Waymo has partnered with Lyft Inc with plans to test autonomous cars on public roads.
The move comes in light of a breakdown in relationships between Waymo and Uber – a business Alphabet’s venture capital division counts as its largest investment – that has resulted in Waymo alleging the ride-hailing giant is using trade secrets stolen by a former engineer to develop self-driving technology. Uber denies the claims.
In a statement, Bloomberg reports Waymo wrote, ‘Lyft’s vision and commitment to improving the way cities move will help Waymo’s self-driving technology reach more people, in more places.’ Lyft in return stated, ‘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.’
Lyft, the second-largest US ride-hailing provider, is also working on autonomous technology with General Motors Co, which is an investor in the start-up.
