The U.S. automaker has invested $500 million in a new partnership with Lyft meant to develop a network of on-demand autonomous vehicles without the need for human drivers.
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Neither Lyft nor GM revealed timing for an autonomous network, but did say the two companies will leverage GM’s deep knowledge of autonomous technology and Lyft’s capabilities in providing a broad choice of ride-sharing services.
John Zimmer, Lyft co-founder, said: “This fundraising and collaboration with GM are exciting milestones that continue Lyft’s leadership in redefining traditional auto ownership”. In addition, GM will become the preferred provider of short-term vehicles for Lyft drivers. Both sides stated that the new alliance emerged from their shared view that autonomous vehicles will first reach consumers as part of a ride-sharing service, rather than vehicles owned by drivers. While less popular than Uber on the east coast, Lyft is just as prevalent, if not more so, in many west coast cities.
Lyft may represent but a fraction of the ride-hailing economy dominated by Uber, and so far it hasn’t expressed an interest in autonomous vehicles. Kingdom Holding Company invested the second-largest amount of cash with $100 million. Lyft promised “to build a network of on demand autonomous vehicles that will make getting around more affordable, accessible and enjoyable”. That’s from Lyft’s own press release, mind you. BMW is experimenting with renting out electric cars through its Drive Now service. They’re hitching rides through mobile apps such as Lyft and Uber to avoid traffic or long waits for parking, and as major Silicon Valley tech firms and automakers develop driverless cars, GM anticipates the two efforts will go hand in hand. “Fontinalis Partners looks forward to working with Lyft to help it in its goal of building a sustainable and interconnected transportation system”.
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A late-2014 funding round of $1.2 billion valued Uber company at more than $40 billion.
