GM Invests $500 Million in Uber Rival Lyft

The “long-term strategic alliance” will include the development of autonomous vehicles. At the same time, Lyft drivers and customers will have access to GM’s OnStar in-vehicle services.

A ridesharing start-up named Lyft, based in San Francisco, has received considerable financial support from General Motors and has stated the two companies will work to create a future network of on-demand autonomous self-driving vehicles in the U.S.

“Longer term, there are elements that GM is focused on and parts that Lyft is focused on”, Lyft President John Zimmer said in an interview with Forbes.

John Zimmer, president and co-founder of Lyft, also weighed in on the partnership with GM: “Together, we will build a better future by redefining traditional auto ownership”.

“We had a really common view of the future”, said GM President Dan Ammann in an interview with Reuters. He added that with Lyft and GM working hand in hand, we believe we will have success in implementing our vision quicker.

The partnership between GM and Lyft is certainly a blow to Uber, which has been fighting to overwhelm Lyft its only USA significant competitor.

Following this latest round, it’s suggested that Lyft is valued at $5.5 billion, “post money”.

GM’s half-billion-dollar investment earns it a seat on Lyft’s board of directors.

Reflecting a clear recognition of the industry’s evolution, GM’s decision to partner with Lyft marks a shift from the one-car-per-person model.

General Motors has signed a deal with the ride-sharing company Lyft to co-develop an on-demand network of autonomous vehicles.

Do you use Lyft or Uber?

Other investors in the funding round included Asian e-commerce companies Rakuten and Alibaba, as well as Chinese taxi service Didi Kuaidi.

The investment comes as Sidecar, a rival to Lyft and Uber, announced last week that it was shutting down its ride-sharing and delivery services.

Lyft has raised $2.1 billion since launching in 2012.