Lyft could get a $1 billion investment from Google’s parent, Alphabet.
LyftAlphabet, Google’s parent company, is apparently embracing the old adage, “the enemy of my enemy is my friend.”
The tech giant is considering a $1 billion investment in Lyft, the ride-hailing startup and main competitor to Uber, according to a report Thursday from Bloomberg.
It’s unclear what division of Alphabet the investment would come from — either Google itself, or Capital G, one of Alphabet’s investment arms.
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The potential investment is notable because Waymo, Alphabet’s self-driving car division, has been locked in a bitter legal battle with Lyft rival Uber since February. Waymo alleges Uber stole trade secrets when Anthony Levandowski, a former Google engineer, joined the ride-hailing company.
Both Alphabet and Lyft declined to comment.
Compared with Uber, Lyft has long been the small dog in the ride-hailing world. It’s received $2.6 billion in venture funding and is valued at $7.5 billion, whereas Uber has received $12.9 billion and is valued at $68 billion.
Over the past few months, though, Lyft has been gaining on its competitor. This is largely thanks to an endless slew of scandals coming out of Uber, which include everything from allegations of workplace sexual harassment to a chaotic company culture to its CEO Travis Kalanick being forced to step down. Uber’s new CEO, Dara Khosrowshahi, is just finishing his second week at the helm.
While Uber has been reeling, Lyft has quietly amassed US market share. Since January, it’s launched in dozens of new cities across the country and now is nearly as ubiquitous as its rival. Lyft is currently available in 40 states. The company is also reportedly looking to expand internationally, according to The Information. It could be in Canada as soon as year’s end and then move into Australia, Mexico and the UK.
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