Lyft gets $500 mn ammunition from General Motors to drive out Uber

General Motors and Lyft just join hands to battle out Uber. GM is going to invest $500 million in Lyft, a ride-hailing startup.

Now, Lyft values at $5.5 billion. Bloomberg reported that the investment, part of a $1 billion financing round for Lyft, is the biggest move by an automaker to date.

Lyft and General Motors will now develop a network of self-driving cars that passengers can call up on-demand.

GM president Dan Ammann will be joining Lyft's board and wants the automotive industry to change more in the next five years.

Ammann added the investment in Lyft was an "alliance" rather than a battle.

Bloomberg quoted Uber's Kalanick, whose company has been investing aggressively in self-driving cars, saying that it could take between 5 and 15 years before such vehicles are meaningfully deployed around the country.

“GM is open to working with some of Lyft's international partners, which include Didi Kuaidi in China, Ola in India and GrabTaxi in Southeast Asia, Ammann said.

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