CES 2016: General Motors is investing $500m in Uber rival Lyft and is making driverless car plans
The US carmaker General Motors has revealed it is investing $500m (£339m) in Lyft, a cab-hailing app which rivals Uber, with plans to work on the development of driverless cars together.
That investment also comes with a seat on the board.
“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,” said GM president Dan Ammann.
The announcement was made at CES, the world's biggest tech show where this year car brands are increasingly seeking attention.
“Working with GM, Lyft will continue to unlock new transportation experiences that bring positive change to our daily lives. Together we will build a better future by redefining traditional car ownership,” said Lyft co-founder and president John Zimmer.
The two will also partner to lease GM vehicles to Lyft drivers.
Uber is developing its own driverless cars, partnering with Carnegie Mellon University to work on autonomous vehicles, along with other high profile tech firms such as Google and Apple.
The new funding values Lyft at $5.5bn and is part of a $1bn round of investment with the rest of the cash coming from Saudi prince Al-Waleed's Kingdom Holdings Janus Capital Management and previous investors Didi, Rakuten and Alibaba.