Lyft

Lyft is a transportation network company (TNC) that operates in the United States and Canada. It develops, markets, and operates the Lyft mobile app, which allows passengers to request rides from drivers who use their own cars. Drivers are independent contractors and are not employees of Lyft. As of October 2018, Lyft operated in over 300 cities in the United States and Canada. The company was founded in 2012 by John Zimmer and Logan Green. It is based in San Francisco, California. Lyft became available nationwide in the United States on July 25, 2013. In May 2013, Lyft announced a Series A round of funding led by Andreessen Horowitz. The company announced a Series B round of funding in March 2014 led by Coatue Management, with participation from General Motors (GM) Ventures, Alibaba Group, and Janus Capital Management. In December 2014, Lyft announced a Series C round of funding led by Rakuten Ventures with participation from previous investors Andreessen Horowitz, Coatue Management, GM Ventures, Alibaba Group, and Janus Capital Management. In May 2015, Lyft announced a $1 billion round of funding led by Saudi Arabian prince Alwaleed bin Talal's Kingdom Holdings investment company. It is now a publicly traded company.