SAN FRANCISCO - Alphabet Inc-owned Waymo has ended an effort to sell light detection and ranging (lidar) sensors to other companies, several people familiar with the matter told Reuters which the company confirmed.

This is a reversal of its earlier strategy that Waymo had said would help reduce the costs of one of the key, expensive components of self-driving cars. Waymo is considering both internal technology and external suppliers for its next-generation lidars, another person said.

“We’re winding down our commercial lidar business as we maintain our focus on developing and deploying our Waymo Driver across our Waymo One (ride-hailing) and Waymo Via (delivery) units," a Waymo spokesperson said in a statement.

  - Reuters