In the ongoing battle between Uber, Lyft and everybody else for a piece of the ride-sharing pie, it looks like Lyft might be about to pull away with a big win. According to Reuters, the app is in talks with Alphabet, a Silicon Valley heavy-hitter, for a massive investment deal.
Obviously, that kind of money could help Lyft overtake its major rival, Uber, who seem to be consistently in the middle of the kind of PR nightmares that can really set a tech company back. First there was the protests over Trump’s immigration ban at JFK airport, where taxis refused to go make pick ups, but Uber went anyway, sparking the #DeleteUber scandal.
Currently, Uber is the leading app in the ride-sharing market, with Lyft at number two, but this huge investment could be enough to help Lyft take the lead. According to Bloomberg, the deal could be for as much as a billion dollars, effectively linking the app with Google or CapitalG, their private equity arm.
Lyft recently expanded into another thirty-two states, so it is now effectively serving the entire company. And, the app has been able to expand without the kind of missteps that have continually plagued Uber. To thicken the plot, it’s worth noting that Alphabet currently has an investment in Uber, but things have gotten hairy between the two companies as another Alphabet unit, Waymo, is suing Uber over self-driving car technology. Recently, Waymo and Lfyt signed a deal to work together, which might be part of why Alphabet’s overall interests have shifted as well.
Representatives from Lyft and Alphabet have declined to comment.
