Ride-sharing service Lyft announced Monday that General Motors (GM) has invested $500 million in the company — roughly half of Lyft's latest $1 billion venture financing round. GM's investment in the growing company is more than just monetary. The New York Times reports that GM will be working with Lyft to develop an "autonomous on-demand network of self-driving cars," and will also set up a "series of short-term car rental hubs" where people who don't own cars can pick one up and earn money driving for Lyft. GM will also take a seat on Lyft's board.
The partnership aims to put Lyft and GM in competition with other innovative companies like Google, Tesla, and Uber, all of which are already devoting resources to developing self-driving cars.
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