Lyft is reportedly joining forces with Google to further develop self-driving car technology, while Google and Uber remain engaged in a heated legal battle.
Lyft and Waymo confirmed the deal to Mike Isaac of The New York Times in a Sunday report.
While the business agreement generally shows how so many tech companies are racing for the first marketable and completely autonomous vehicle, it also could be a sign that Google wants to one-up Uber. (RELATED: Apple Signals It Wants In On The Self-Driving Car Race)
The two tech giants are currently locking horns in a contentious lawsuit in which Google is accusing a former high-level employee of taking precious data to start his own startup, which Uber then purchased.
Google alleges that Anthony Levandowski, co-founder of Otto and VP of Engineering at Uber, was secretly building another company while working and making $120 million in incentives at the company.
Specifically, it claims that Levandowski, one of the original members of Google’s self-driving car initiative, “downloaded over 14,000 highly confidential and proprietary design files for Waymo’s various hardware systems” roughly six weeks prior to resigning from the company. Waymo and Google also claim that he downloaded several files, including trade secrets and blueprints.
The new partnership seems to indicate that Lyft sees an opening for it to capitalize on the self-driving market as Uber is forced to focus on the lawsuit as well as a litany of other scandals.
“Waymo holds today’s best self-driving technology, and collaborating with them will accelerate our shared vision of improving lives with the world’s best transportation,” a Lyft representative told The NYT in an official statement.
The Daily Caller News Foundation reached out to Google to see if their deal with Uber’s main rival was a purposeful “middle finger” to the larger ride-hailing company, but the tech conglomerate did not respond by the time of publication. (RELATED: Lyft Raises $600 Million As Lane Opens With Uber’s Troubles)
The legal proceedings that have transpired thus far have been unique.
The name of one of the cofounders of Otto was mistakenly revealed after court documents failed to completely conceal all aspects of his identity in the lawsuit. The clerical mistake, specifically the lack of redaction, unraveled Uber’s efforts to keep the executive out of the spotlight.
While not absolutely extraordinary, Levandowski repeatedly used his Fifth Amendment rights during initial legal proceedings, after lawyers advised him to not say anything out of fear incriminating himself.
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