GM Will Invest A Half Billion Dollars In Lyft Partnership

Other investors in this latest funding round for Lyft include Kingdom Holding Company, which put in $100 million, as well as Alibaba, Didi Kuaidi, Janus Capital Management and Rakuten.

To celebrate the new year, General Motors has just invested 0 million in Lyft, and the two firms are planning to create an “integrated network of on-demand autonomous vehicles in the U.S”.

“We had a really common view of the future”, said GM President Dan Ammann in an interview with Reuters.

Lyft said it was the fastest-growing rideshare platform in the United States, boasting 7 million rides per month in more than 190 cities.

Elsewhere, the companies will provide each others’ customers with “personalized mobility services and experiences”.

Lyft now faces tough competition from its main ride-hailing service rival Uber, which is valued at $62.5 billion.

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. Detroit-based automotive giant is looking to tap in autonomous driving technology, which is rapidly gaining traction amongst auto and technology companies, such as Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOGL). Its collaboration with GM can expand the scope of ride-sharing services. As a result, GM gets a seat on Lyft’s board and access to the three-year-old company’s software, which matches riders with drivers and automates payments.

We already have working hoverboards, drones that never land, and technology that makes Wi-Fi look outdated.

In the more immediate future the collaboration will look at potential new services and systems refinements that the two organisations can bring to their existing customers.