Honda Motor Co and Waymo, the self-driving car unit of Alphabet Inc, were nearing a deal to jointly develop autonomous vehicles earlier this year when the Japanese company walked away, according to people familiar with the matter.
Just a few months later, Honda bought into General Motors Co’s GM Cruise LLC unit instead, choosing a familiar partner over a tech heavyweight. There are any number of reasons to explain why the Waymo deal failed, but the most pressing issues underscore the complexities that technology companies and automakers face as they both team up and also compete for a piece of the future of transportation.