Waymo partners with Lyft for self-driving car

US Uber competitor Lyft has partnered with Google sister company Waymo. The details of the collaboration are not yet known, but the companies want to work on technology for self-driving cars.

Both companies have confirmed to The New York Times that they are working together. They want to develop techniques for self-driving vehicles through pilot projects and shared product development, two sources told the newspaper. In a response, Waymo said that with the decision it wants to “reach more people in more places.” The companies did not provide details about the nature of the products resulting from the collaboration.

Both companies have entered into partnerships in the past that provide clues as to the nature of the current agreements, the newspaper said. For example, Lyft has been trying to combine its network of passengers with companies in the transport and car industry for some time. At the beginning of 2016, for example, the company managed to secure an investment of 500 million dollars from the American General Motors. Waymo wants to enter into agreements to integrate its technology for autonomous vehicles into vehicles. For this it has approached Honda and Fiat Chrysler, among others.

Lyft and Uber compete strongly in the US and, according to the paper, Lyft is nowhere near the size of Uber. Waymo and Uber are currently in a lawsuit in which the Google sister accuses the company of stealing company secrets. Waymo was founded at the end of 2016 and transferred to Alphabet as an independent company. Before that, it was part of Google X.

Chrysler Pacifica Minivan with Waymo Technology