GM, Lyft Partner Up In Plan For Self-Driving Cars
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DETROIT (CBSMiami/AP) — General Motors is investing in the ride sharing company Lyft as they work towards developing a fleet of self-driving cars.
As part of GM's $500 million investment/partnership, they get a seat on Lyft's board which could speed the development of on-demand, self-driving cars.
The two companies will soon open numerous U.S. hubs where Lyft drivers can rent GM vehicles. That could expand Lyft's business by giving people who don't own cars a way to earn money through Lyft.
Over the long term, the companies plan to develop the fleet of autonomous vehicles that can be summoned with Lyft's software.
Lyft says the investment came as part of $1 billion round of fund-raising. Another big investor was Saudi Arabia's Kingdom Holding Co., which invested $100 million.
Lyft is now valued at $5.5 billion, or about 10 percent of GM's value.
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