GM Invests in Lyft Ride-Share Firm

General Motors Co. is investing $500 million in Lyft Inc. The deal is part of a $1 billion fund-raising round for the San Francisco-based ride-share service that competes with Uber Technologies Inc. GM President Dan Ammann will join Lyft’s board of directors.

Under what they describe as a long-term strategic alliance, the two companies say they intend to eventually launch an on-demand network of autonomous vehicles in the U.S. They offered no details or timeline but say the scheme would combine GM’s self-driving vehicle technology with Lyft software that matches drivers with passengers and automates payments.

Lyft also will gain access to GM’s OnStar telematic services. And GM will immediately begin to offer conventional cars in several U.S. cities that Lyft drivers can rent short term.

Other investors in Lyft’s latest fundraising round include Chinese Internet giant Alibaba, Beijing-based ride-hailing service Didi Kuaidi, Janus Capital Management, Japanese online retailer Rakuten and Kingdom Holding, which is led by Saudi investor Prince Alwaleed bin Talal.

Lyft, which has raised $2 billion since August 2013, is now valued at about $5.5 billion. Uber, which is in the process of raising $2.1 billion, is valued at more than $60 billion, Reuters reports.