Lyft forms own autonomous vehicle unit, will open network by: Vince Cestone. Posted: Jul 22, 2017 / 01:56 AM PDT. Updated: Jul 22, 2017 / 01:56 AM PDT. by: Vince Cestone.

DETROIT — Lyft said Friday that it is setting up its own unit to develop autonomous vehicle technology, but its approach will be different from other companies and partnerships working on self ...

Lyft is calling its unit "Level Five," the industry term for fully-autonomous vehicles. It expects to have 200 employees working on the vehicles in Palo Alto, California, by the end of the year.