Hmmm... from the outside it looked like Lyft forced Uber into the "everybody can drive" business model. Before Lyft, Uber was using licensed Limousine operators. Lyft started this and Uber followed, if I remember correctly.
You are probably right that Uber had all the attention and "fought" more.
I work for a large semiconductor manufacturer. In our R&D operations we require a large volume of newly designed parts to be purchased from suppliers. These parts are not off the shelf but are all custom created by us. Once a design is approved we try to get them into the lab the fastest way possible so the earlier we can get the designs quoted with a supplier, the better.
I use machine learning to predict if a newly designed part will have to be purchased soon to go in the lab. That prediction saves me about 3 weeks of lead time to get it to a supplier. Before machine learning, the first time the purchasing department knew that it will need to be purchased is when the designer filled out a form. Now they know as soon as he submits his design and can get a head start.