CES: GM, Lyft to offer autonomous cars for ridesharing

Uber competitor Lyft has received a $500 million investment from General Motors that now values the company at approximately $5.5 billion.

As per the agreement, the companies will develop a network of on-demand autonomous vehicles that will use the self driving technology created by GM and Lyft’s broad choice of ride-sharing services.

Under the agreement, General Motors (GM) is planning to invest $500m in Lyft to help the company continue its growth in ridesharing service.

“From a GM perspective, we view this as much more of an opportunity than a threat”, said GM President Daniel Ammann, who will join the Lyft board of directors. Lyft is preferred by drivers and passengers for its safe and friendly experience, and its commitment to driving positive change for the future of our cities.

John Zimmer, president and co-founder of Lyft, told CNBC today that the rental cars would allow potential recruits whose own cars do not meet Lyft’s qualifications to work as Lyft drivers.

This newly announced partnership also firmly places GM and Lyft in the autonomous auto race alongside Google and Ford, Tesla and Apple.

GM and Lyft announced the joint venture on Monday, with the two companies agreeing to work together on driverless cars themselves, and driverless cars that will operate as for-hire vehicles, . The association also means GM might have an inside track at selling GM vehicles to Lyft drivers.

GM, one of the biggest vehicle makers in the United States, says it will invest $500 million in Lyft, the popular car-hailing startup based in San Francisco that’s already raised more than $1 billion in venture capital. Is this the future of vehicle services? The companies provided no timeline for their ride sharing service.