In brief
- Lyft has confirmed it is sourcing street-level mapping data from Bee Maps, a decentralized mapping platform built on the Solana-powered Hivemapper network.
- The partnership began in 2024 and supports Lyft’s navigation and autonomous vehicle initiatives.
- Decrypt understands the deal involves licensing data only, with no contribution from Lyft drivers or their vehicles.
Lyft has partnered with Bee Maps, a decentralized mapping platform built on the Solana-powered Hivemapper network, to support its internal mapping efforts, the company has confirmed to Decrypt.
The rideshare firm began working with Bee Maps in 2024 and is using the platform’s street-level mapping data to help improve routing and navigation as it expands its autonomous vehicle strategy.
Bee Maps publicly announced the relationship in a blog post on Wednesday, describing Lyft as a customer of its crypto-incentivized mapping network.
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The consumer-facing mapping product is built on top of Hivemapper, a decentralized, crypto-incentivized map-building network that runs on Solana. Bee Maps is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Hivemapper Inc., the firm behind the Hivemapper project.
The platform relies on a global network of contributors who upload street imagery via AI-powered dashcams, rewarding them with its native HONEY token.
“Lyft recognized that old-school mapping couldn't keep up with the real world,” Ariel Seidman, co-founder and CEO of Bee Maps, said in the post. “For mobility to work and for autonomy to become reality, maps can't be an afterthought—they need to be crowdsourced, live, accurate, and open.”
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While Bee Maps has promoted the use of crowdsourced data from drivers, Decrypt understands that Lyft’s partnership is limited to licensing mapping data and does not involve Lyft drivers or their vehicles contributing to the platform.
Lyft has previously invested in open-source mapping through contributions to OpenStreetMap, and the Bee Maps partnership points to its continued push toward more flexible and real-time mapping systems, independent of legacy providers.
Terms of the deal between the pair were not disclosed.
Logan Hitchcock contributed to reporting.
Editor's note: This story was updated after publication to clarify descriptions of Bee Maps and Hivemapper, and to update the headline accordingly.
