How GM and Lyft Are Driving the Future of Autonomous Cars

By Chris Lange Updated Jan 13, 3:29PM EST · Published Jan 4, 9:05AM EST

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How GM and Lyft Are Driving the Future of Autonomous Cars — © Thinkstock

Currently, Lyft is one of the fastest-growing ride-share platforms in the United States, similar to Uber. Lyft completes roughly 7 million rides per month in over 190 cities. The company is looking to expand even further with the massive capital influx from none other than General Motors Co. (NYSE: GM).

GM invested $500 million in this ride-sharing giant, closing out a total investment of $1 billion. What did GM win for this investment? At Lyft’s most recent valuation, the company is worth $5.5 billion, following this round of investment. Effectively GM has just slightly less than a 10% stake in the company, as well as a seat on the board of directors.

In addition to GM’s investment, the companies are working to create an autonomous on-demand network. GM is at the forefront of autonomous vehicle development, and Lyft is the leading innovator of software to automate ride matching, routing and payments. Together, the companies will work to help make this integrated network of on-demand autonomous vehicles part of people’s daily lives.

In October, Lyft reached an annual gross run rate of $1 billion and surpassed more than 40% market share in San Francisco and Austin. Since 2013, Lyft has raised more than $2 billion.
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John Zimmer, Lyft’s president and co-founder, commented:

This raise and collaboration with GM are exciting milestones in our three-year history that continue Lyft’s leadership in redefining traditional car ownership. We are thrilled to take this momentum into the new year and continue improving life in our cities through more affordable, accessible and enjoyable transportation.

Dan Ammann, GM president, added:

We see the future of personal mobility as connected, seamless and autonomous. With GM and Lyft working together, we believe we can successfully implement this vision more rapidly.

Shares of GM were closed Thursday down nearly 1% at $34.01, with a consensus analyst price target of $41.88 and a 52-week trading range of $24.62 to $38.99. In early trading indications Monday, the stock was down 1.5% at $33.46.

About the Author Chris Lange →

Chris Lange is a writer for 24/7 Wall St., based in Houston. He has covered financial markets over the past decade with an emphasis on healthcare, tech, and IPOs. During this time, he has published thousands of articles with insightful analysis across these complex fields. Currently, Lange's focus is on military and geopolitical topics.

Lange's work has been quoted or mentioned in Forbes, The New York Times, Business Insider, USA Today, MSN, Yahoo, The Verge, Vice, The Intelligencer, Quartz, Nasdaq, The Motley Fool, Fox Business, International Business Times, The Street, Seeking Alpha, Barron’s, Benzinga, and many other major publications.

A graduate of Southwestern University in Georgetown, Texas, Lange majored in business with a particular focus on investments. He has previous experience in the banking industry and startups.