In an abrupt change to their strategy, Alphabet-owned Waymo is ending a two-year effort to sell LIDAR sensors to other companies.
The reversal comes after the recent departures of CEO John Krafcik and other executives, which fueled questions of whether the company needed to rethink their strategy.
It is not clear if the company ever made enough revenue off sales to counteract development and operational costs. However, many around the industry believe that Waymo was not selling enough units to be sustainable.
Back in 2019, the company noted it would sell LIDARs in robotics, farming and others. However, the company never sold into the self-driving car market as to not rival other car firms.
Instead, the company will develop and deploy the Waymo Driver across Waymo One and Waymo Via. The company said it will continue to build LIDAR’s in-house according to a report from CNBC.
According to company sources, the company is considering both internal technology and external suppliers for its next generation of LIDARS.
Waymo recently started their Trusted Tester program in San Francisco, giving residents the opportunity to test out the self-driving vehicles in certain parts of the city.
