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Level 5 Woven Planet Holdings

Toyota subsidiary acquires Lyft’s Level 5 Division for $550 million

Woven Planet Holdings , a subsidiary of Toyota Motor Corporation, has agreed to acquire Level 5 , the self-driving division of Lyft. This marks the first major deal for the newly established Woven Planet. The result is a combined team of approximately 1,200 where Woven Planet is at the center of the connected and automated driving movement.

  • Talent: an international team of top-tier engineers, research scientists, and domain experts in mobility services.

  • Technology: a robust set of sensing, computing, and software assets, and strategic capabilities in automated driving systems.

  • International Footprint: once the acquisition is complete, Woven Planet will have an expanded footprint beyond its Tokyo headquarters, with offices and engineering teams in Palo Alto, CA and London, UK.

In addition to the acquisition of Level 5, Woven Planet and Lyft have signed commercial agreements for utilization of the Lyft system and fleet data to accelerate the safety and commercialization of the automated-driving technology that Woven Planet will develop.

Lyft will receive approximately $550 million in cash, with $200 million paid upfront subject to certain closing adjustments and $350 million of payments over a five-year period.

“This acquisition advances our mission to develop the safest mobility in the world at scale . The Woven Planet team, alongside the team of researchers at TRI, have already established a center of excellence for software development and technology in the Toyota Group. Bringing Level 5’s world-class engineers and experts into the fold—as well as additional technology resources—will allow us to have even greater speed and impact. This deal will be key in weaving together the people, resources, and infrastructure that will help us to transform the world we live in through mobility technologies that can bring about a happier, safer future for us all.” – James Kuffner, CEO of Woven Planet.