March 15, 2018
(AFP) - Lyft on Wednesday announced it will collaborate with Canada's Magna on self-driving car technology, with the automotive components giant set to invest $200 million in Uber's main rival.
The alliance comes amid reports that Lyft is gaining ground on US ride-share market leader Uber, which has seen its image dented by scandal and litigation.
The equity investment by Magna was reported to value the San Francisco-based company at nearly $12 billion.
"Together with Magna, we will accelerate the introduction of self-driving vehicles by sharing our technology with automotive (original equipment manufacturers) worldwide," Lyft chief executive Logan Green said in a joint release.
Lyft has made an array of alliances, including with investors Ford and General Motors, since opening its self-driving initiative to other companies.
The partnership with Magna will involve jointly funding, developing and making autonomous driving systems that the Canadian company could build into components it sells to car makers.
"There is a new mobility landscape emerging and partnerships like this put us at the forefront of this change," said Magna chief technology officer Swamy Kotagiri.
Lyft will lead the endeavor at its self-driving center in Silicon Valley, with the companies sharing innovations, according to the release.
Waymo, the self-driving car unit of Google parent Alphabet, last year made an agreement with Lyft to test self-driving car technology.
Lyft is racing against Uber, which is developing its own self-driving vehicles.
Most major automakers and an array of technology firms have stepped up efforts on autonomous driving in recent years, contending these systems will eliminate the vast majority of road accidents. Apple is among companies with permits to test self-driving cars in California.