The investment fund in charge of Google’s Alphabet sub-brand, CapitalG, has invested another $500 million into ride-sharing app Lyft.
This investment boosts the amount of Lyft’s recently raised capital to $1.5 billion. The company, which has expanded massively in 2017 with technical partnerships, investments and increased market share, now boasts a post-investment valuation of around $11.5 billion. Fortune reports the company doubled the number of rides it gave this year to 162.6 million and expanded to all 50 U.S. states and the Canadian market of Toronto, Ontario.
SEE ALSO: Lyft Locks Down Permit to Test Autonomous Cars in California
Google is becoming heavily interested in Lyft as it makes progress with its Waymo self-driving car project. Waymo has been testing Alphabet-developed autonomous hardware and software on Chrysler Pacifica Hybrid minivans in the Phoenix area and has even begun giving the public driverless rides in the cars, which they order through a smartphone app. Lyft also recently acquired a permit to test self-driving cars on public roads in California. The same permit has also been given to Audi, Apple, Samsung and Tesla.
[Source: Fortune]
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