Why Are Robotaxis Driving Lyft’s $1.6 Billion Gain: Liam Denning

Lyft Inc. ended last week worth $1.6 billion, or 21%, more than at the start. The reason was a new partnership with Waymo LLC, Alphabet Inc.’s robotaxi unit. But the rally raises a fundamental question amid the developing mash-up of ride-hailing and autonomous vehicles: Who’s driving?

Lyft is teaming up with Waymo to launch a robotaxi service in Nashville next year. Lyft will provide fleet management services to Waymo’s autonomous vehicles there and riders will at some point be able to order them via Lyft’s app (Waymo’s own app will handle hailing at first). Nashville is a relatively small market and Goldman Sachs Group Inc. estimates ...