Alphabet's Waymo to stop selling lidar self-driving car sensors

FILE PHOTO: A Waymo Chrysler Pacifica Hybrid self-driving vehicle is parked and displayed during a demonstration in Chandler, Arizona, November 29, 2018. REUTERS/Caitlin O’Hara

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) -Alphabet Inc's self-driving unit Waymo said on Thursday that it has ended a two-year effort to sell light detection and ranging (lidar) sensors to other companies.

This is a reversal from its earlier strategy to sell the lidars to non-automotive customers to bring down costs of a key and expensive component of self-driving cars.