To signal other would be poachers and tech snatchers that you don't mess with the Google ?
To experiment outside of the google brand ?
To test waters before buying Lyft ?
To evaluate if it is better to enter the market providing rides to people or providing technology to companies providing rides to people ?
There are quite a few reasons for google to be a partner for lyft.
I see this as one of the primary motivating factors.
> To test waters before buying Lyft?
I don't foresee this happening, at least not the current iteration of Lyft. With the rise of autonomy, I can see Lyft pivoting in one of two directions: autonomous fleet ownership and management, or management of the use of individuals' personal autonomous vehicles while they would otherwise sit unused.
Google has the capital to purchase a fleet on its own, so I don't see Google buying Lyft if that becomes their primary business strategy. If it's the latter option, Google may see value in the Lyft brand. People are already working with Lyft to grind out supplemental income with their personal vehicles, so it may be an easier sell to potential vehicle-owners to go with Lyft.
> To evaluate if it is better to enter the market providing rides to people or providing technology to companies providing rides to people?
Definitely part of the story.
In the short term Waymo will have a very strong bargaining position because their technology is so advanced - Lyft cannot buy self driving tech from anyone else.
But in 10 years Lyft will be able to choose from a half dozen companies offering self driving tech. 'Ride sharing' will be a cut-throat commodity business like airlines, but Lyft won't be at a particular disadvantage compared to other companies in the industry.
If all you're building is the underlying technology, you NEED partnerships for an actual complete solution.