Ford is joining Lyft's "open platform" to work on autonomous driving technology, the companies announced on Wednesday. Ford will use Lyft's ride-hailing service to test and develop software and will eventually deploy self-driving cars, according to a blog post by Sherif Marakby, Ford VP of autonomous vehicles (and a former Uber exec).

Why it matters: The partnership is timely for both companies. While Lyft is pushing to catch up to rival Uber and others in the self-driving car race via its platform and in-house technology efforts,