Lyft taps Mobileye and Tel Aviv dashcam startup to connect riders to robotaxis
As part of the collaboration, Mobileye plans to deploy autonomous vehicles on the ride-hailing network, while Nexar will provide video footage to build data-driven safety solutions
Sharon Wrobel is a tech reporter for The Times of Israel.
US rideshare firm Lyft is teaming up with Mobileye, the Jerusalem-based maker of self-driving technologies, and Israeli smart dashcam startup Nexar for the rollout of robotaxis on its platform.
The two partnerships are part of three deals that Lyft has inked with autonomous driving companies to bring self-driving cars into its ride-hailing app. The third partner is US startup May Mobility, which plans to deploy a fleet of self-driving Toyota Sienna minivans equipped with its autonomous technology, through Lyft’s network starting in Atlanta in 2025.
“Lyft’s aim is to connect autonomous vehicles (AVs), drivers, riders, and partners to create new opportunities for all,” said Lyft CEO David Risher. “Our rideshare network will continue to evolve as millions of people will have the opportunity to earn billions of dollars whether they choose to drive, put their AVs into service, or both.”
As part of the partnership with Intel-owned Mobileye, Lyft will make its rideshare platform available to vehicles owned by third-party fleet operators that are integrated with Mobileye’s Drive self-driving system.
“Cooperating with leading mobility providers and operators are essential steps to bring autonomous mobility services to reality,” said Mobileye President and CEO Prof. Amnon Shashua. “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.”
Mobileye has in recent years bet on commercial robotaxi services, as well as self-driving shuttles for public transportation across Europe and delivery vehicles in the US as a first introduction of autonomous cars on the roads. Mobileye Drive-equipped vehicles are currently piloted with several mobility operators in Germany, Norway, Croatia and the US.
Tel Aviv-based Nexar, a startup that has developed software to protect drivers against car crashes and road casualties, will work with Lyft to provide video telematics to help build safer autonomous technology. The startup is a maker of a vehicle-to-vehicle network that aims to detect dangers on the road and prevent collisions by alerting drivers about crashes and road hazards in real time. It is deployed by using an artificial intelligence-powered dashcam app installed on smartphones.
The network crowdsources data from its users and creates a detailed map of road conditions at any given time.
“By pairing Lyft data with Nexar’s hundreds of millions of hours of video footage, we can jointly contribute to a more complete data set for autonomous research and development,” Lyft said.
The collaboration will harness Nexar’s video data and insights, including “over 45 petabytes of real-world footage, spanning 200 million miles driven monthly, with over 5 trillion images and over 59 million videos… to create a comprehensive and robust dataset for AV technology development.”
