Level 5’s Exciting Path Ahead at Woven Planet

By Luc Vincent, President, Level 5

We’re thrilled to announce we’ve officially joined the Woven Planet family. Woven Planet is a software-first subsidiary of Toyota Motor Corporation, and their vision is to create mobility of people, goods, and information that everyone can enjoy and trust. We’re aligned in vision and values, prioritizing safety and improving mobility for all.

We recognize there is significant work to be done to get commercial autonomous vehicles (AVs) to scale, and AVs are taking a longer path than the industry initially predicted. To create safe, autonomous mobility and deploy it on a global scale, an AV company needs a combination of attributes rarely seen in the industry. Having joined Woven Planet, Level 5 now has that rare combination.

A rare set of attributes

Level 5 was already a fast-moving startup with a talented team. Woven Planet expands the R&D resources, reach, and applications for Level 5’s technology. Level 5 now has a unique set of assets to deliver on our mission:

• Startup agility as an independent group within Woven Planet tasked with rapid software innovation
• Financial backing from Toyota Motor Corporation, one of the world’s largest and most profitable automakers
• Access to data from Lyft’s rideshare business to power our data-driven approach to autonomy
• Talent and automotive expertise to continue driving toward L4 AVs with the know-how to scale
• A path to scaled deployment through our ongoing relationship with Lyft as well as Toyota’s global business
• Access to best-in-class vehicles, hardware, and automotive-grade software through Toyota Motor Corporation, Toyota Research Institute, and Woven Planet

We’re still Level 5

Not everything has changed around here. Our full Palo Alto and London teams joined Woven Planet, so we maintain the same great leadership and relationships. And we’re continuing our work in the same offices, labs, garage, and our Silicon Valley test track.

The goal remains to build L4 AVs to be deployed at scale, and we’ve kept a valuable component of our relationship with Lyft to help us achieve that. We’ll continue to use the Lyft system and fleet data to advance our data-driven approach to autonomy.

We’ve also expanded our opportunity for impact. Woven Planet plays a key role in supplying Toyota Motor Corporation with advanced technology across multiple levels of autonomy. While Level 5 is now Woven Planet’s core group for autonomous driving, we also have an exciting opportunity to help save lives and generate revenue by incorporating cutting-edge elements of our L4 technology into L2/3 products to be embedded into Toyota and others’ vehicles.

With this expansion of opportunities comes the need for an expanded team. We’re doubling down on our growth plans and have compelling opportunities for engineers on nearly every team at Level 5.

A strong foundation and path ahead

As part of Lyft, we built a mission-driven, values-oriented team focused on developing safe autonomous driving accessible by everyone. We’re grateful to Lyft for the great culture we take with us to Woven Planet, and we’re energized by the similarities we see in Woven Planet’s culture.

I believe Level 5 is in a stronger position for long-term success than ever. I like to say that with Woven Planet, we’ve become a dream team. We have the financial backing, robust resources, and technical and automotive expertise to bring to life our shared vision of safe mobility for all.

Visit our careers page to see open roles at Level 5, and follow this blog and @WPLevel5 on Twitter for updates.