Lyft forms own autonomous vehicle unit, will open network

Lyft said Friday that it is setting up its own unit to develop autonomous vehicle technology, but its approach will be different from other companies and partnerships working on self-driving cars..

The San Francisco-based ride-hailing service says it will open its network, inviting automakers and tech companies to use it to haul passengers and gather data. It may even share computer software and sensor technology.

Raj Kapoor, the company's chief strategy officer, says Lyft is pursuing the open strategy as a way to lead and bring the environmental and safety benefits of autonomous vehicles to market faster. Lyft brings network expertise to the table, he said. "We believe this is inevitable where the world is going. We need to be playing this role," he said.

Like other tech companies and automakers, Lyft has established partnerships with companies like Google's Waymo autonomous vehicle operation and with General Motors. It does not want to produce cars, but wants to make a standardized system for use on its network.

Just how it would make money off the system is yet to be determined, but it likely would take a cut of passenger fares from everyone who uses its network or shares its system. For example, General Motors, which has invested $500 million in Lyft, would be invited to run its own autonomous vehicles on Lyft's network. Data gathered by GM and vehicles from other companies would be used to help build high-definition maps that are needed for the vehicles to navigate streets across the world. The data also would be used to develop computers that would make decisions to run the autonomous vehicles.

Lyft is calling its unit "Level Five," the industry term for fully-autonomous vehicles. It expects to have 200 employees working on the vehicles in Palo Alto, California, by the end of the year.

The company, which carries passengers in 350 cities worldwide, says even when autonomous vehicles are in operation, it will still have humans in the driver's seat. In many places, detailed maps won't be available to guide the autonomous vehicles, so humans will still be needed.