GM and Lyft said the partnership would tap into GM’s work on developing autonomous vehicles and Lyft’s software that automates matching drivers and passengers, routing and payments to create a network of cars that would operate themselves and be available on demand.
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Although most of the specifics of this network of driverless rideshare have not yet been cemented, GM said this system would leverage the deep knowledge the automaker has of autonomous technology, with the broad choice of Lyft’s ride-sharing service.
“We’ll create the operating system of the future where people will be able to order an experience”, Lyft co-founder John Zimmer told BuzzFeed.
“We see the future of personal mobility as connected, seamless and autonomous”, GM president Dan Ammann said in a press release.
Effective “immediately” according to GM, the partnership will establish rental stations around the country from which Lyft drivers can rent GM vehicles on a short-term basis.
A driver with the ride-sharing service Lyft waits for a customer in Santa Monica, California, in October 2013. The New York Times reports that GM, the automotive manufacturing giant, and ride-sharing service Lyft have come together in a deal that would give consumers more options for travel and work. Existing Lyft investors that have invested more this investment round include Janus Capital Management, Rakuten, Didi Kuaidi and Alibaba.
General Motors will not only support Lyft with a huge cash influx, but it will also be helping Lyft develop a network of autonomous self-driving cars.
Like Lyft, Uber is also working to expand beyond its current reliance on user-owned cars to autonomous vehicle services. “The GM deal should help Lyft extend its life as a smaller but still potent number two in the ride-hailing space”.
The auto industry is changing rapidly as technology and internet companies increasingly see cars as the next frontier for development, with many analysts expecting the sector to see more advances in the next 10 years than in the past 50. Lyft is now valued at $5.5 billion.
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Following Lyft’s latest round of fundraising, which included a $100 million investment from Saudi Arabia’s Kingdom Holding Co., privately-held Lyft set its value at $5.5 billion.
