Thursday, October 19, 2017

"Alphabet just announced a $1 billion bet on Lyft — despite being an investor in Uber"

From CNBC:
There's yet another complication in Alphabet's relationship with start-up giant Uber.

CapitalG, an investment arm within Google-parent Alphabet, will lead a $1 billion funding round for Lyft, the companies said on Thursday. CapitalG Partner David Lawee will join Lyft's board.

Alphabet's self-driving car unit, Waymo, confirmed earlier this year it would partner with Lyft on a self-driving car project. Lyft noted in a statement that its service is now available to 95 percent of the U.S. population — up from 54 percent at the beginning of the year.

The funding round comes as a chummy relationship between Uber and Google has soured, in part due to a lawsuit between Waymo and Uber. Waymo alleges that Uber is using one of Waymo's trade secrets for its autonomous vehicle sensors....MORE