Skip to main content

The context you need, when you need it

When news breaks, you need to understand what actually matters — and what to do about it. At Vox, our mission to help you make sense of the world has never been more vital. But we can’t do it on our own.

We rely on readers like you to fund our journalism. Will you support our work and become a Vox Member today?

Join now

Lyft gets an investment — from an Uber investor

Fidelity owns a piece of Lyft in addition to Uber.

Lyft employees standing in a promotional booth with a prize wheel, all in pink
Lyft employees standing in a promotional booth with a prize wheel, all in pink
Noam Galai/Getty Images for TechCrunch

A large Uber shareholder has made an investment in chief U.S. rival Lyft, part of the latest twist in the entangled web of ride-sharing deals.

Lyft said on Tuesday that Fidelity, the giant mutual fund, would participate in an expanded financing round that now values the company at $11.5 billion. The round, led by Alphabet affiliate CapitalG, was previously only expected to collect $1 billion; it now stands to raise $1.5 billion.

Shareholders typically try to avoid conflicts of interest in their investments, but when it comes to Uber and Lyft it seems like all’s fair. Alphabet, for example, is also invested in both Uber and Lyft. Fidelity declined to comment.

Fidelity’s ownership position in Uber is almost certainly much larger than its position in Lyft — Fidelity led $1.2 billion Uber’s Series D financing round in 2014.

Notably, Fidelity was a key investor that helped oust Uber’s CEO Travis Kalanick this summer.

Lyft and Uber are locked in a tightening battle for market share in the U.S. and are both stockpiling cash to win it. Lyft does not need the cash right now — but investments in frontier areas like autonomous vehicles demand a healthy war chest and Lyft is accepting the cash when it is on the table.

Uber is itself preparing to take on at least $1 billion in new investment from the Japanese conglomerate SoftBank. SoftBank has threatened to also invest in Lyft if it is unable to close its Uber investment.

Axios earlier reported the expanded financing round.


This article originally appeared on Recode.net.

More in Technology

Technology
The case for AI realismThe case for AI realism
Technology

AI isn’t going to be the end of the world — no matter what this documentary sometimes argues.

By Shayna Korol
Politics
OpenAI’s oddly socialist, wildly hypocritical new economic agendaOpenAI’s oddly socialist, wildly hypocritical new economic agenda
Politics

The AI company released a set of highly progressive policy ideas. There’s just one small problem.

By Eric Levitz
Future Perfect
Human bodies aren’t ready to travel to Mars. Space medicine can help.Human bodies aren’t ready to travel to Mars. Space medicine can help.
Future Perfect

Protecting astronauts in space — and maybe even Mars — will help transform health on Earth.

By Shayna Korol
Podcasts
The importance of space toilets, explainedThe importance of space toilets, explained
Podcast
Podcasts

Houston, we have a plumbing problem.

By Peter Balonon-Rosen and Sean Rameswaram
Technology
What happened when they installed ChatGPT on a nuclear supercomputerWhat happened when they installed ChatGPT on a nuclear supercomputer
Technology

How they’re using AI at the lab that created the atom bomb.

By Joshua Keating
Future Perfect
Humanity’s return to the moon is a deeply religious missionHumanity’s return to the moon is a deeply religious mission
Future Perfect

Space barons like Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk don’t seem religious. But their quest to colonize outer space is.

By Sigal Samuel