In an effort to combat the ride-sharing juggernaut that is Uber, Lyft is apparently about to raise another $250 million in funding which would put the value for the company at around $2 billion. This funding will supposedly be used to finally help expand the company outside of the US, something that Uber has already done quite a lot of.
Lyft is in talks to raise about $250 million in new financing, putting a value for the three-year-old start-up at $2 billion, people briefed on the matter said on Thursday. If it closes the round, that would be a second wind of fresh capital for Lyft, which says it experienced rapid growth in 2014. John Zimmer, Lyft’s co-founder and president, said in an interview last month that the company’s revenue grew fivefold last year, though he did not give specific figures. Some of the new capital is expected to come from existing investors like the Alibaba Group of China, though the round has not been completed, according to the people, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of ties to the company. Alibaba itself was not expected to lead the round and would contribute a relatively small portion of the new money.
