Lyft, Inc. (LYFT), one of the largest transportation networks in the United States and Canada, has announced an agreement with Woven Planet Holdings, Inc., a subsidiary of Toyota Motor Corporation for developing autonomous driving and other advanced mobility technologies, for the acquisition of Lyft’s self-driving vehicle division, Level 5.
Lyft Co-Founder and CEO Logan Green said that Lyft has spent nine years building a transportation network that is uniquely capable of scaling AVs and this partnership between Woven Planet and Lyft is a step forward for autonomous vehicle technology.
In addition to the acquisition of Level 5, both the companies have signed commercial agreements to utilize Lyft’s system and fleet data to accelerate the safety and commercialization of the automated-driving vehicles that Woven Planet will manufacture.
According to James Kuffner, CEO of Woven Planet, this acquisition will enable the Level 5 team to join Woven Planet to build a team of world-class engineers and scientists to deliver safe mobility technology for the world.
James further added that the Woven Planet team, alongside the team of researchers at Toyota Research Institute, have already set up a centre of excellence for software development, automated driving, and advanced safety technology within the Toyota Group.
Woven Planet will fork out approximately $550 million as per the deal, with $200 million paid upfront subject to certain closing adjustments and $350 million of payments over five years. The transaction also includes multi-year non-exclusive commercial agreements between Lyft and Woven Planet to accelerate the development and enhance the safety of automated driving technology. The transaction is expected to close in the third quarter of 2021, subject to the receipt of required regulatory approvals and customary and other closing conditions.
