GM, Lyft To Develop Self-Driving Cars With $500M Partnership

The two companies provide essentially the same service although they can be differentiated by their signature markings: Uber drivers have a stylized “U” displayed on their windshield while Lyft drivers display a pink mustache on their vehicles.

Ride sharing firm Lyft announced that General Motors Company (NYSE:GM) will invest $500 million in company’s ride-sharing services.

“GM is the largest automaker in the USA, so it made a lot of sense”, said Lyft president and cofounder John Zimmer.

For his part, GM President Dan Ammann said “We see the future of personal mobility as connected, seamless and autonomous”. GM will become a “preferred provider of short-term” rental vehicles to Lyft drivers, Lyft drivers will have access to GM’s OnStar services, and there will be new personalized mobility services.

A number of technology companies, most prominently Google, are looking at developing driverless cars. F and Daimler AG DDAIF, who are both now working to develop ride-sharing services of their own. Since 2013, the company has raised more than $2 billion.

Lyft is hitching a ride with GM on the road to robo-cars.

Lyft said Monday that it has closed all of that round.

“Lyft has built a strong business with fast growth and we believe in their long-term success”, Alwaleed said in a release.

GM’s investment makes up half of the $1 billion Lyft has garnered amid a recent fundraising push.

Few details of the on-demand autonomous vehicles were announced, but the Detroit automaker’s investment in Lyft has some immediate partnerships.

Lyft’s shiny new $5.5 billion valuation comes with further investments from the likes of Janus Capital Management, Japanese e-commerce company Rakuten Inc., and Saudi Arabia’s Kingdom Holding Co. While Uber has expanded internationally, operating in 58 countries and 300 cities worldwide, Lyft’s business is restricted to only 65 United States cities.

As for Lyft, its executives said the alliance is part of “redefining traditional vehicle ownership”.