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.
General Motors Corp
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11:10 14/11/24
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.