Alphabet's self-driving car division Waymo has reportedly partnered with ride-hailing app Lyft.
As per a report by The New York Times, the companies have confirmed the deal. However, none has disclosed any financial detail of the partnership, reported Quartz and, meanwhile, Uber declined to comment on the same.
Uber, which is currently fighting a lawsuit against Waymo, who has accused Uber of stealing their autonomous car technology, is well known for its long time rivalry with Lyft as well. So, it appears that Uber's nemesis in court has joined hands with its nemesis on the road.
This partnership would definitely affect the lawsuit as well as its efforts to win over Lyft's passengers in the US.
Waymo has some of the most advanced self-driving vehicle technology and has been looking for partners, while Lyft offers ride services in about 300 U.S. cities.
Uber CEO Travis Kalanick announced his ambition to develop self-driving cars in 2014 and during 2016-17 the company launched their autonomous car pilots in Pittsburgh, San Francisco, and Tempe, Arizona and also acquired an autonomous tech start-up founded by one of Waymo's former engineers Anthony Levandowski.
Levandowski wasn't only an engineer at Waymo but was one of the members of the core group that developed Alphabet's self-driving car program.
In February 2017, Waymo filed the lawsuit against Uber accusing them of misappropriating trade secrets downloaded by Levandowski in relation to its driverless technology. However, later during the case, Waymo upped their allegation and said that Uber intentionally colluded privately with Anthony Levandowski and prompted him to steal away Waymo's technology. Uber has, of course, denied all the allegations.
Lyft, on the other hand, has been working on self-driving technology through partnerships. In January 2016 the company announced that it has received a $500 million funding from GM, made with the specific intent of developing a fleet of self-driving vehicles. GM later went on to acquire Cruise Automation, which develops kits that turn ordinary cars into self-driving cars, for $1 billion.
As per the company, the deal with Waymo is non-exclusive and it will allow Lyft to continue its partnership with General Motors Co, reported Reuters.
