Toyota acquires Lyft’s self-driving technology unit for $550 million, the companies said, as the Japanese firm steps up its automation ambitions with the newly created Woven Planet division. The acquisition of Level 5 automation will also provide Toyota access to the U.S. ride-hailing firm’s more than 300 employees of the essentially complete autonomy technology.

“This is the first step of establishing and bringing together the people. Obviously building technology and product requires people, and that’s much what this acquisition is about,” Woven Planet chief executive James Kuffner told reporters on Tuesday. It will also give Toyota a direct presence in Silicon Valley and London and expand smart-city project “Woven City” at the base of Japan’s Mt. Fuji, effectively helping it ride through dramatic changes expected in the mobility industry and major centres, he said.

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For Lyft, the deal will allow it to become profitable sooner and takes away the burden and risk of developing a costly technology that has yet to enter the mainstream. Toyota, which currently offers Level 2 automation with advanced driver assistance technology, has other self-driving projects and has been working closely with ride-hailing firms. It owns a stake in China’s top ride-hailing firm Didi Chuxing and Southeast Asia’s Grab and also had a stake in the self-driving unit of Lyft’s larger rival Uber Technology Inc, but transferred the stake when Uber sold the unit in December to car startup Aurora.