Lyft has sold its autonomous vehicle (AV) division to Toyota subsidiary Woven Planet for $550 million.
Both parties have also signed commercial agreements for the utilisation of Lyft system and fleet data to accelerate the safety and commercialisation for AVs that Woven Planet will develop.
Lyft's open platform team, which develops third-party AV technology on the company's network, will become the new Lyft autonomous team.
Lyft co-founder Logan Green says: “With Lyft autonomous, we can combine the power of Lyft’s hybrid network, marketplace engine and fleet management capabilities to help our AV partners scale deployment with the highest revenue per mile at the lowest cost per mile.”
Lyft co-founder John Zimmer says: “Not only will this transaction allow Lyft to focus on advancing our leading autonomous platform and transportation network, this partnership will help pull in our profitability timeline.”
The deal is expected to strengthen Woven's own efforts in AVs.
Woven CEO James Kuffner says: “The Woven Planet team, alongside the team of researchers at Toyota Research Institute, have already established a centre of excellence for software development, automated driving, and advanced safety technology within the Toyota Group.”
The transaction is expected to close in the third quarter of 2021, subject to the receipt of required regulatory approvals and customary and other closing conditions.
