Rideshare network Lyft has enlisted the help of self-driving and ADAS technology provider Mobileye to establish the widespread commercialization of autonomous vehicles to large fleet operators.
Lyft ($LYFT) remains a household name in rideshare services alongside that other company that starts with a “U.” Both competitors appear to be embracing electrification, but Lyft especially has vowed to go 100% electric by 2030.
To do so, the company has established several partnerships to incentivize and empower its network of drivers to adopt a BEV for their work. Alternatively, Lyft has solidified alliances with several other tech companies and OEMs to implement autonomous vehicles, including Hyundai.
Speaking of autonomous vehicles, Mobileye ($MBLY) is an ADAS specialist based in Israel with 25 years of experience in the segment. The company was wholly acquired by Intel in 2017 before beginning to develop autonomous robotaxis with Volkswagen Group.
Since then, automakers like Porsche have turned to Mobileye for its advanced driving technology. More recently, Polestar partnered with the tech company to help enable hands-free, eyes-off (Level 3 autonomous driving) in its upcoming 4 SUV.
Today, Mobileye announced a new alliance with Lyft to combine its autonomous driving technology with the latter’s fleet operators that contribute to its network of 40 million annual riders.
Lyft and Mobileye to deploy autonomous rideshare fleets
Mobileye shared details of its collaboration with Lyft today. In this collaboration, Mobileye intends to provide its proprietary autonomous vehicle (AV) technology to an ecosystem of purpose-built vehicle manufacturers, which will then become available for purchase by vehicle fleet operators and transportation service providers.
These “Mobileye Drive-based” autonomous fleets will help Lyft achieve its goal of bringing more robotaxi rides to cities in North America. They will also support operators who want to deploy and manage large-scale fleets in those metropolitan areas. As a result, those fleet operators will gain the opportunity to purchase Mobileye Drive-equipped, “Lyft-ready” vehicles from various OEMs building AV-ready EVs, like the Hyundai IONIQ 5, for example. Per Lyft CEO David Risher:
Mobileye’s full-stack technology is an important part of getting autonomous fleets Lyft-ready. As we make more AVs available to our 40 million annual riders, we’re laser-focused on building a platform where fleet owners will be proud to put their assets to work. We welcome Mobileye as an important strategic partner on the road to an autonomous future.
In addition to Mobileye Drive-equipped vehicles, Lyft intends to utilize the ADAS specialist’s new cloud-based AV demand technology, connecting those vehicles with AV fleet operators.
Through Mobileye’s turnkey autonomous vehicle ecosystem and Lyft’s current suite of AV Partner APIs, participating fleets are expected to be monetized while offering riders using the app a faster and broader availability of travel options. Mobileye president and CEO Prof. Amnon Shashua also spoke:
Cooperating with leading mobility providers and operators are essential steps to bring autonomous mobility services to reality. Enabling Mobileye Drive with Lyft’s network of 40 million annual riders in North America would allow our AV customers to reach new markets and geographies with autonomous services and provide the benefits of the technology through a sustainable business.
There are yet to be timelines on when or where we will see these Mobileye-equipped autonomous vehicles deployed by Lyft and its fleet operators, nor do we know what makes or models will see the technology first. This will be a story we will keep a (mobile) eye on and report back as we learn more,