Big Uber Shareholder Invests in Lyft

Fidelity Investments participates in latest funding round for upstart ride-hailing service.
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Lyft’s recent funding round has expanded to $1.5 billion, putting the ride-hailing service on better footing to compete with its bigger competitor Uber.

The latest cash infusion, led by Alphabet affiliate CapitalG, brings the company’s valuation to $11.5 billion, Lyft said Tuesday in an emailed statement.

Giant Mutual fund Fidelity Investments, which also invests in Uber, is participating in the expanded round, as well as the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan, the company said. The current round also counts as participants existing Lyft backers including AllianceBernstein, Baillie Gifford, KKR, Janus Henderson, and Rakuten.

“It’s been a breakout year for Lyft, made possible by our team members, drivers, and passengers. We will continue to invest in our community and look forward to an even bigger 2018,” John Zimmer, co-founder and president of Lyft said in the statement.

Lyft and Uber are vying for market share in the U.S., and while larger, Uber has stumbled of late. 

Uber last month acknowledged that it had hidden a hack that left information for 57 million people vulnerable. Its brand was already in bad shape in the wake of a series of scandals that led to the June departure of its founder, Travis Kalanick, as CEO.