Journey-hailing firm Lyft is seeking to launch totally self-driving robotaxis in a single U.S. metropolis by subsequent yr, in line with an announcement from the corporate’s prime government.
On Monday, Lyft CEO David Risher stated in a put up on X that the corporate is planning to launch totally autonomous robotaxis in Dallas, Texas “as quickly as 2026,” as backed by know-how from Mobileye. The Mobileye autos will likely be bought and owned by Japanese firm Marubeni, and the chief additionally says it’ll make the most of its Flex Drive subsidiary for fleet administration.
“As quickly as 2026, Marubeni-owned automobiles with Mobileye AV tech will launch in Dallas
on the Lyft platform, with hundreds extra AVs/different cities to observe,” Risher wrote within the put up.
Upon deployment, the autos will start displaying up on the Lyft app for riders, and Risher additionally says the corporate will share extra information within the months to return.
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Tesla, Waymo and others engaged on industrial robotaxis
The information comes as Tesla additionally goals to enter the rising industrial robotaxi business with its lately unveiled Cybercabs, backed by its Full Self-Driving (FSD) software program. Elon Musk and Tesla Head of Design Franz von Holzhausen have each stated that Tesla will deploy the primary unsupervised variations of the FSD software program in Austin, Texas in June, following the revealing of its steering wheel-less Cybercab in October.
Musk has additionally stated that he expects to unveiling autonomous ride-hailing in “many cities in America by the tip of this yr,” following the launch of the providers in Austin. In the course of the Q3 earnings name in October, Musk additionally stated that Tesla staff had already began testing ride-hailing providers within the Bay Space, permitting staff to request a experience and be taken anyplace within the Bay.
Alphabet-owned robotaxi firm Waymo can be set to launch its driverless ride-hailing autos in Austin subsequent month, set to be hosted solely on Lyft competitor Uber’s cell platform. The corporate has additionally been working paid driverless rides for a number of months now by its Waymo One app in Los Angeles and San Francisco, California, and Phoenix, Arizona, and it’s seeking to broaden to Miami, Florida and over 10 different new cities in 2025.
Different firms, together with the Amazon-owned firm Zoox, are aiming to roll out robotaxis all through this yr, although Waymo at the moment stays the one firm providing totally autonomous paid ride-hails.
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