Days after raising $500 million via a strategic investment from travel giant Booking Holdings, Chinese ride-hailing giant Didi Chuxing has continued its international push with the launch of a local business in Japan. Its new Japan-based unit is a joint venture with SoftBank, a longtime Didi investor, which has been in the works since an announcement back… Continue reading China’s Didi Chuxing is close to launching a taxi-booking service in Japan
Tag: Lyft
Self-driving car startup Zoox is raising $500 million at a $3.2 billion valuation
Zoox, a once-secretive self-driving car startup, is closing a $500 million at a $3.2 billion post-money valuation, Bloomberg Businessweek reports. Prior to the deal, Zoox was valued at $2.7 billion, Zoox confirmed to TechCrunch. The round, led by Mike Cannon-Brookes of Grok Ventures, brings its total amount of funding to $800 million. Zoox’s plan, according… Continue reading Self-driving car startup Zoox is raising $500 million at a $3.2 billion valuation
Why Lyft President John Zimmer Thinks Scooters and Bikes Are Special
Lyft’s plan to change how people get to the grocery store and commute to work involves scooters and bicycles. Lyft co-founder and president John Zimmer said Tuesday at Fortune’s Brainstorm Tech Conference in Aspen, Colo. that his company’s mission has always been about providing an alternative to car ownership. And in some cases, “a bike… Continue reading Why Lyft President John Zimmer Thinks Scooters and Bikes Are Special
BMW’s Launching an Uber Competitor in Seattle
In this wacky new world of bike shares, electric scooters, OneWheels, and transit apps, automotive companies aren’t quite famous for their inspired, innovative business moves. But today, BMW is sending up the industry’s latest trial balloon. And it’s headed straight for airspace currently occupied by Uber and Lyft. Starting today, the automaker’s ReachNow arm, which… Continue reading BMW’s Launching an Uber Competitor in Seattle
Lyft outlines bike and scooter plans
On the heels of Lyft’s acquisition of bike-share company Motivate, the company is gearing up to fully integrate bicycle and scooter sharing into the app. There’s no word on exactly when this will happen, but it’s likely this will happen soon. Lyft is also investing $1 million to advance transportation equity to people in underserved… Continue reading Lyft outlines bike and scooter plans
Mercedes-Benz self-driving taxi pilot coming to Silicon Valley in 2019
Daimler and automotive parts supplier Bosch will pilot a free self-driving ride-share service in the San Francisco Bay area starting in the second half of 2019, the companies announced this week. Using a custom version of NVIDIA’s autonomous vehicle technology, the two companies will offer rides in modified Mercedes-Benz cars along preselected routes. No further… Continue reading Mercedes-Benz self-driving taxi pilot coming to Silicon Valley in 2019
Uber and Lyft’s Never-Ending Quest to Crush Price Comparison Apps
For nearly as long as there have been ride-sharing services like Uber and Lyft, there have been apps that help riders compare fares and travel times. These aggregator apps allow riders to survey all the services in an area and check prices and wait times—an efficient version of what many do already. There are always… Continue reading Uber and Lyft’s Never-Ending Quest to Crush Price Comparison Apps
In a 1st, Tata Motors picks up 26% in startup TruckEasy
MUMBAI: Tata Motors, the flagship of the $100-billion Tata Group, has picked up 26% in freight aggregator TruckEasy, marking its first stake-purchase in a domestic startup. The transaction, for which the investment amount wasn’t disclosed, gives Tata Motors two seats on the board of the three-year-old, Bengaluru-based TruckEasy. Tata Motors’ bet on TruckEasy could boost… Continue reading In a 1st, Tata Motors picks up 26% in startup TruckEasy
SpotHero introduces 500 autonomous car-ready garages in Chicago
Conventional cars drive the bulk of Chicago-based SpotHero‘s business, but the parking inventory and booking startup is setting its sights on a driverless future. Today, it announced that more than 500 of its connected parking garages in Chicago have been adapted to accommodate autonomous cars, trucks, and SUVs. “Significant strides in both vehicle and parking technologies… Continue reading SpotHero introduces 500 autonomous car-ready garages in Chicago
Apps like Uber and Lyft could improve public transportation instead of undercutting it
The number of innovative transit partnerships is growing rapidly, but the jury is still out on what types of partnerships can yield win-wins for communities, companies and transit agencies. An overarching goal should be to increase mobility – that is, passenger miles traveled – while reducing vehicle miles traveled. This will only happen if ride-hailing… Continue reading Apps like Uber and Lyft could improve public transportation
instead of undercutting it