Link: Lyft eyes robotaxi launch in 2026

Lyft plans to launch a robotaxi fleet in Dallas by 2026, using technology from Intel’s Mobileye, with ambitions to expand to other cities with thousands of vehicles shortly after. The company has partnered with Marubeni, a Japanese conglomerate, to manage the fleet operations, emphasizing its commitment to the project.

Lyft's announcement follows Uber's update about its collaboration with Waymo to introduce robotaxis in Austin and Atlanta later this year. Tesla also aims to roll out a robotaxi service in Austin this summer.

Similar to Uber, Lyft intends to remain "asset light" by letting other companies own and maintain the robotaxi fleets. This strategy allows them to offer their platform to several self-driving developers.

Marubeni, managing over 900,000 vehicles worldwide, will employ its Flexdrive fleet-management technology to ensure cost-effectiveness and high utilization of the fleet.

However, Marubeni lacks direct experience in ridehailing and autonomous vehicle operations, even though it has prior collaborations with Mobileye in Japan. Lyft CEO David Risher has expressed optimism about partnering with Marubeni in leading the autonomous vehicle (AV) market.

As Lyft competes with Uber in the autonomous driving space, it has shifted from developing its own AV technology to forming partnerships, after selling its AV research division to a Toyota subsidiary in 2021. Uber has broader alliances including recent and former collaborations with multiple AV companies #

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