Lyft Raises $1 Bln In Latest Funding, Announces Partnership With General Motors

Lyft, a San Francisco-based ridesharing app, announced on Monday that it has raised $1 billion in a funding round that includes an important strategic investor, General Motors with an investment of $500 million.

This round also included Kingdom Holding Company, who invested $100 million, along with several new and existing Lyft investors including Janus Capital Management, Rakuten, Didi Kuaidi and Alibaba.

“This raise and collaboration with GM are exciting milestones in our three-year history that continue Lyft's leadership in redefining traditional car ownership”, Lyft said in an online post. “We are thrilled to take this momentum into the new year and continue improving life in our cities through more affordable, accessible and enjoyable transportation.”

The company said that it will work with GM to build a network of on demand autonomous vehicles that will make getting around more affordable, accessible and enjoyable. The blog post also revealed that GM will establish a series of national rental hubs where Lyft drivers will be able to access short-term vehicles, thereby creating new ways for people to earn money without having to own a car.

“We strongly believe that autonomous vehicle go-to-market strategy is through a network, not through individual car ownership,” John Zimmer, president of Lyft, said in an interview, The New York Times reported.

In September, Lyft announced partnership with world's largest one-stop mobile transportation platform, Didi Kuaidi. Later in December, Lyft, Didi Kuaidi, GrabTaxi and Ola announced a strategic partnership to provide international travelers seamless access to local on-demand rides by using the same application they use at home.