Jaguar’s venture fund InMotion invested $25 million in Lyft as part of self-driving car partnership
Jaguar Land Rover’s InMotion Ventures announced that it has joined Lyft’s recently announced $600 million fundraising round in an effort to bolster both companies’ self-driving car efforts.
InMotion said it has invested $25 million in the ride-sharing company as Lyft continues to search for ways to gain the upper hand against rival Uber. In a press release, InMotion said that the investment will allow it to provide support for Lyft’s expansion by supplying drivers with fleets of Jaguar and Land Rover vehicles. But, perhaps more critically, InMotion said it will also use the partnership to “develop and test its mobility services, including autonomous vehicles.”
“We are excited to collaborate with a leading platform like Lyft not only on developing premium mobility solutions but also devising innovative solutions to the transport problems Jaguar Land Rover’s customers face,” said Sebastian Peck, InMotion’s managing director, in a statement. “Personal mobility and smart transportation is evolving and this new collaborative venture will provide a real-world platform helping us develop our connected and autonomous services.”
In April, Lyft confirmed that it had raised a new round of funding, bringing in $600 million from a combination of new and old investors at a valuation of $7.5 billion. At the time, the company didn’t say exactly how it would use the money. A month later, Lyft announced a partnership with Google’s Waymo to work on self-driving car technology.
- Jaguar joins Lyft in quest for autonomous driving grail.