GM, Lyft Partner on Autonomous Cars for Hire

In the not-so-distant future, you may be able to hail an autonomous car from Lyft. General Motors and the ridesharing service will pair up to create a network of on-demand driverless vehicles across the U.S., the companies announced today.

“We see the future of personal mobility as connected, seamless and autonomous,” GM President Dan Ammann said in a recent statement. “With GM and Lyft working together, we believe we can successfully implement this vision more rapidly.”

As part of the partnership, GM will spend $500 million to grow Lyft and will hold a seat on the young company’s board of directors. As of January 4, the three-year-old ridesharing company is now valued at $5.5 billion.

GM will also act as the preferred provider of short-term use vehicles to Lyft drivers through many rental hubs across the U.S. Drivers will also have access to GM’s OnStar connectivity services as an added benefit to the collaboration.

But the pair may have some serious competition in the future. According to recent rumors, Ford and Google are in talks to partner on autonomous cars. Incidentally, both of these companies have reportedly expressed interest in entering the ridesharing business. Uber is also on a mission to develop autonomous cars, according to recent reports.

Source: General Motors, Lyft

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