Lyft Has Doubled Its Value in a Year

Ride-haling company Lyft has doubled its valuation on the stock market in just about one year — a huge step as it tries to keep up with its massive rival Uber.

In April 2017, Lyft was valued at $7.5 billion. Now, as of Monday, after its latest round of funding, the company is worth $15.1 billion. Among its investors, Fidelity is leading the pack this funding round with a roughly $800 million cash infusion into the startup.

After several high-profile scandals rocked Uber over the last year, including sexual harassment allegations, legal entanglements and a fatal self-driving car crash, Lyft was able to make major strides in the US ride-hailing market. In May, Lyft said it had 35% of the US market.

The company also moved into the international ride-hailing market at the end of 2017, expanding operations in Canada, and it is reportedly considering a launch in both the European and Latin American markets.

Lyft operates 1 million rides in the US and Canada each day.

By comparison, Uber is valued at about $62 billion and is the most valuable privately held startup in the world. Although, it might not be private for long — there is intense speculation that Uber is on the cusp of launching an IPO that would be one of the most significant Wall Street launches in recent history. It operates 15 million rides per day in 630 cities worldwide.

In 2018, Lyft is predicted to have $7.7 billion in gross bookings, or the profits it makes before paying out drivers, a person familiar with Lyft's numbers told the Wall Street Journal.

H/T: Wall Street Journal