Lyft shares pop on Waymo deal to bring robotaxis to Nashville

Waymo has partnered with Uber to get its robotaxis into Atlanta and Austin, Texas. Now it is teaming up with Lyft for the primary time in a business deal to enter Nashville subsequent 12 months.

Lyft inventory climbed 10% on the information.

Riders in Nashville shall be in a position to hail a Waymo robotaxi by the Waymo One app, and Lyft will add Waymo robotaxis to its platform over time, the businesses stated in a joint assertion on Wednesday.

Lyft “will provide end-to-end fleet management services including vehicle readiness and maintenance, infrastructure, and depot operations in Nashville,” for the Waymo fleet, the businesses stated.

Waymo, which is owned by Alphabet, has taken an enormous lead within the U.S. robotaxi market, launching in Phoenix, San Francisco and Los Angeles, in addition to Austin and Atlanta. It surpassed 10 million paid journeys in May, and has plans to begin business operations subsequent 12 months in Miami, Washington, D.C., Dallas, Denver, and now Nashville.

Tesla and Amazon’s Zoox have restricted exams underway. Smaller gamers like Wayve, Nuro and May Mobility are additionally working on driverless expertise within the U.S.

In worldwide markets, Waymo faces its most formidable rival in Baidu’s Apollo Go service. In August, Baidu announced a partnership with Lyft to bring driverless taxis to Europe subsequent 12 months. A month earlier, Baidu said it was working with Uber to deploy autonomous vehicles in markets outdoors the U.S. and mainland China, beginning with Asia and the Middle East later this 12 months.

Lyft beforehand labored with Waymo on a pilot within the Phoenix space in 2019. The ride-hailing firm began a take a look at program with May Mobility in Atlanta earlier this month.

Lyft can use the assistance because it tries to sustain with Uber, which has expanded its lead over its smaller rival. Uber’s market cap has surpassed $200 billion, making it about 25 instances extra helpful than Lyft.