GM invests USD500m in Lyft to develop self-driving ride-sharing cars

General Motors has invested $500m in ride-sharing technology group Lyft as part of a joint venture to develop driverless cars.

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,.

San Franciso-based Lyft, known for the pink moustaches on the front of drivers' cars, will give a seat on its board to GM, while the pair plan to soon open several US hubs where Lyft drivers can rent GM-owned vehicles.

GM and Lyft said the partnership would benefit from GM's existing work on developing self-driving vehicles and Lyft's software to create a network of cars that would operate themselves and be available on demand.

The investment forms part of a $1bn round of financing for Lyft, with Saudi Arabia's Kingdom Holding Co also investing $100m, with other investors including Janus Capital Management, Japanese e-retailer Rakuten, ride-hailing service Didi Kuaidi and Chinese Internet giant Alibaba.

This latest round values Lyft at $5.5bn, roughly a tenth of GM's market capitalisation.

Much larger rival Uber is developing its own autonomous technology, while Google and Ford are reportedly set to announce a similar partnership during the CES conference.