Last month, Google was rumored to be mulling a huge investment in Lyft as the two companies work together against Uber to bring self-driving cars to the mainstream. Today, the ride-sharing service announced that Alphabet’s CapitalG investment fund led a $1 billion financing round.
CapitalG — a separate entity from the startup-focussed GV — focusses on more mature and established companies, like Snap Inc. For Lyft, this $1 billion investment led by the late-stage growth fund does just that and reportedly “ensure its independence for the near future.”
Previous reports have noted the occasional talks of a larger company, such as GM or even Alphabet, acquiring Lyft. This latest round should alley those discussions as Lyft focusses on growth with this new funding:
While we’ve made progress towards our vision, we’re most excited about what lies ahead. The fact remains that less than 0.5% of miles traveled in the U.S. happen on rideshare networks. This creates a huge opportunity to best serve our cities’ economic, environmental, and social futures.
Lyft is not commenting on who else participated in the round with the ride-hailing company now valued at $11 billion. Meanwhile, Alphabet gets a seat on Lyft’s board with CapitalG Partner David Lawee joining.
This deal comes as Alphabet company Waymo is mired in a lawsuit with Uber over allegations of stolen technology. Their relations are further tangled through GV’s investment into Uber, with ongoing conflict already seeing an Alphabet executive resigning from that board.
Meanwhile, besides today’s move to directly fund a competitor, Waymo is rumored to soon launch their own ride-sharing service and already laying the groundwork with a public education campaign on the benefits of self-driving. There is also an ongoing partnership with Lyft to make self-driving vehicles more accessible.
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