Lyft valued at $7.5bn after $500m funding round amid rival Ubers struggles

LyftSan Francisco-based Ride hailing company Lyft is set to bring its valuation up to $7.5bn (£6.04bn) as it approaches the closure of a $500m funding round.

The funding round, initially reported by the Wall Street Journal and the Financial Times, could increase beyond $500m. Uber’s rival was las valued at $5.5bn back in 2015.

The transportation network has yet to announce the latest investment publicly and has yet to make any comment on what has been revealed. Previous investors in Lyft include Andreesen Horowitz, SoftBank, Didi Chuxing, Tencent, Alibaba, and more.

Lyft’s new valuation still places it a very long way behind Uber – which is valued at around $68bn. However, with Uber more-or-less consistently facing criticism and controversies, this will be seen by Lyft as a significant stride toward making up ground on its rival. It is also important to note that Lyft only operates in the US, whereas Uber operates internationally.