Lyft's great year includes some help from the likes of Jaguar Land Rover.
InMotion Ventures-the mobility and smart transportation subsidiary of Jaguar Land Rover-announced that the automaker would invest $25 million as well as a fleet of cars in ride-sharing app Lyft.
The investment is said to help Lyft with its expansion plans. The move then gives InMotion Ventures and Jaguar Land Rover an outlet to garner experience and technology as pertains to self-driving innovations.
Sebastian Peck, InMotion Managing Director, explained via press release: "We are excited to collaborate with a leading platform like Lyft not only on developing premium mobility solutions but also devising innovative solutions to the transport problems Jaguar Land Rover's customers face."
Autonomous vehicles are nearly a foregone conclusion. Automakers are shifting resources to guarantee they have a solution for conveyances of the future.
Peck continues, "Personal mobility and smart transportation is evolving and this new collaborative venture will provide a real-world platform helping us develop our connected and autonomous services."
Lyft President and Co-founder John Zimmer seemed to echo that sentiment: "We're excited to join forces with Jaguar Land Rover and InMotion. Lyft envisions a future where shared mobility will transform cities and improve people's lives. This partnership will help us achieve that ambitious goal."
Lyft began the year by welcoming $500 million in funds from another automaker, General Motors.
A press release at the time explained GM was eager to develop autonomy with the aid of a prolific partner like Lyft: "In addition to GM's investment in Lyft, the companies are creating an Autonomous On-Demand Network. GM is at the forefront of autonomous vehicle development and Lyft is the leading innovator of software to automate ride matching, routing and payments. Together, the companies will work to help make this integrated network of on-demand autonomous vehicles part of people's daily lives."
Lyft also oined up with Waymo in May to further innovation that may very well power cars a decade from now.
The New York Times explains Lyft was enamored with Waymo's self-driving technology. A spokesperson explained at the time: "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."
Inching toward a truly self-driving future has become a shared endeavor as various automakers, ride-sharing companies and innovators like InMotion Ventures can share in the spoils of discovery.
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Automakers and ride-sharing services are in hot pursuit of the exact innovation that will revolutionize the industry. While it may not be a death knell to be second, it would be catastrophic to be left well behind industry leaders who understand consumers crave the convenience and efficiency that this kind of driving would bring.
As Forbes reminds, Uber also has similar deals with the likes of Mercedes-Benz and Toyota.
All of this competition means a windfall for the technology as brands clamor to acquire innovations that are reliable and comfortable to consumers.
The moment when the public at large embraces autonomous vehicles isn't that far off; Some see this taking place by 2030.
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