Lyft says that it will leverage its recent acquisition of taxi company Freenow to speed up deployment of autonomous vehicles, given that platform's established foothold in the UK and Germany. The partnership between Lyft and Baidu,

Lyft Inc. said it’s partnering with China’s Baidu Inc. to launch autonomous vehicles in Europe starting next year, an agreement that comes after the US rideshare company finalized its first expansion into the continent.

The launch will begin in the U.K. and Germany, with a goal of deploying thousands of robotaxis across Europe in the following years, pending regulatory approval. The move follows Lyft's acquisition of German ride?