Timeline of Lyft

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This is a timeline of Lyft, a car-hailing platform.

Big picture

Time period Key developments at Lyft
2012–2014 Lyft launches in San Francisco, and expands to at least 60 different cities by 2014. A year after launch, it gives 30,000 rides a week. By August 2013, it hits a million completed rides.
2014–2016 Lyft gets Series E and Series F round investments (including from General Motors), increasing its total raised to $1 billion and its valuation to $2.5 billion.

Full timeline

Year Month and date Event type Details
2012 June Company Lyft launches in San Francisco by Logan Green and John Zimmer as a service of Zimride, a ridesharing company the two founded in 2007.[1]
2013 January Funding Lyft raises $15 million in Series B led by Founders Fund.[2]
2013 January 30 Expansion Lyft expands to Los Angeles.[3]
2013 May Funding Lyft completes a US $60 million Series C venture financing round led by Andreessen Horowitz; the other investors were Founders Fund, Mayfield Fund, K9 Ventures, and Floodgate.[4][5]
2013 July Partnerships Lyft sells Zimride to Enterprise Holdings, the parent company of Enterprise Rent-A-Car, allowing Lyft to focus exclusively on the growth of Lyft.[6]
2013 October 3 Expansion Lyft announces its expansion to Silicon Valley.[7]
2014 April Funding Lyft completes a $250 million Series D financing round led by Coatue, Alibaba, and Andreessen Horowitz, bringing its total amount raised to $332.5 million.[2]
2014 April Funding Lyft announces it will temporarily stop taking 20% commissions from drivers, as it experiments with cutting user fares by 20%.[8][9]
2014 April 24 Expansion Lyft announces it will expand in 24 new markets, bringing its total number of markets to 60. These markets include Ann Arbor, Mich.; Fairfield County & New Haven, Conn.; Fresno, Calif.; Jacksonville, Fla.; Louisville, Ky.; Modesto, Calif.; Newark & North Jersey; Oklahoma City, Okla.; Raleigh-Durham, N.C.; San Bernardino, Calif.; and Tulsa, Okla.[10]
2014 July Product Lyft rewrites all its code from Objective C to Swift, which makes the code tighter and easier to maintain.[11]
2014 July 24 Expansion Lyft launches in New York City.[12][13] The New York Supreme Court in Manhattan forces Lyft to delay its planned launch in Brooklyn and Queens in response to complaints filed by the attorney general's office.[14]
2014 August 4 Product Lyft announces Lyft Line, a carpooling service that lets multiple people ride together when they share a common route.[15]
2014 August Competition Journalists confirm that Uber has been sending so-called brand ambassadors to order Lyft rides undercover and then persuade the drivers to defect to Uber.[16][17]
2014 August Product Lyft announces that it will reintroduce 20% commissions on rides, provide Lyft’s first revenue since April, when the company slashed prices and said it would temporarily suspend its cut of all fares.[9]
2014 November 4 Legal Lyft accuses former COO Travis VanderZanden (who left Lyft for Uber) for breach of his confidentiality agreement and fiduciary duty.[18] This lawsuit is settled by June 2016.[19]
2015 March Funding Lyft raises a $530 million Series E investment led by Japanese online retailer Rakuten Inc.[2][20]
2015 March Product Lyft announces Lyft Carpool, which lets it go back to its Zimride roots, by allowing passengers to carpool outside of city limits.[21]
2015 April Team Lyft hires Rex Tibbens, former vice president of Amazon logistics, as its chief operating officer.[22]
2015 May Funding Lyft raises $150 million in second Series E led by a $100 million investment from Carl Icahn. This increases the total raised to over $1 billion and the valuation to $2.5 billion.[2][23][24]
2015 June 25 Partnerships Lyft announces a partnership with Starbucks, which connects Lyft with Starbucks’s rewards program and creates perks for drivers: Lyft drivers automatically get Gold status in the Starbucks Rewards loyalty program, while Lyft passengers earn points in the rewards program with each ride.[25]
2015 September 16 Competition Didi Kuaidi, the dominant Chinese player in China's ride-hailing market, announces a $100 million investment in Lyft, the second biggest player in the United States ride-hailing market after Uber. In addition, the companies announce a strategic partnership, where people can use the Lyft app to get rides using Didi Kuaidi in China, and vice versa.[26]
2015 September 30 Company Lyft announces its second engineering hub in Seattle.[27]
2015 December International Lyft's alliance grows to include Didi Kuaidi (China), Ola Cabs (India), and GrabTaxi (South-East Asia) (all of which have Softbank as an investor). This is widely seen as an attempt by the companies to keep Uber at bay. All the other companies in the partnership are market leaders in their respective regions of focus.[28][29]
2016 January 4 Funding Lyft announces a partnership with U.S. automaker General Motors, which invests $500 million as part of a Series F $1 Billion fundraising effort. The partnership is designed to help both companies accelerate in the ride-sharing market, as well as the autonomous car arena.[2][30][31]
2016 March Partnerships Lyft launches Express Drive, a car rental program through which Lyft drivers can rent a GM vehicle to drive on the platform.[32]
2016 March Product Lyft and General Motors announce partnership to test-drive electric taxis.[33]
2016 May 7–9 Local retreat On May 9, Uber and Lyft cease operations in Austin, Texas.[34][35] This is in response to a city ordinance upheld by Austin voters on May 7 that would require drivers for Uber, Lyft, and other transportation network companies to get fingerprint checks, to have their vehicles labeled, and to not pick up and drop off in certain city lanes.[36][37]
2016 May 23 Product Lyft announces that it will now allow users to schedule trips ahead of time.[38]
2016 June Partnerships Walmart decides to test grocery delivery with both Uber and Lyft.[39]
2016 June 27 Partnerships Lyft announces that it has been working with Qatalyst Partners LP, in exploring its options for a future acquisition.[40] It has been unable to find an acquirer as of August 2016.[41]
2016 August 1 Local retreat, competition, mergers Lyft's ally Didi Chuxing (formerly Didi Kuaidi), the dominant player in China's ridesharing market, agrees to buy Uber China, Uber's business in China.[42] [43] The Uber brand will be retained, but Didi would “integrate the managerial and technological experience and expertise of the two teams.” Uber, which has reportedly lost $2 billion trying to make inroads in China, would therefore be able to cut its losses and focus on the rest of the Asian market.[44] Commentators speculate on the effect this would have on Lyft, Ola Cabs, and GrabTaxi, that had entered into a technology and service alliance with Didi in December 2015.[45][46]

See also

References

  1. Farr, Christina (23 May 2013). "Lyft team gets $60M more; now it must prove ride-sharing can go global". VentureBeat. Retrieved 17 July 2013. 
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 "Lyft". Retrieved June 26, 2016. 
  3. "Lyft Strikes Deal With California Regulator To Remove Fines, Expands Its Ride-Sharing Service To LA". Retrieved July 1, 2016. 
  4. Green, Tomio (23 May 2013). "Lyft Raises $60 Million As Ride Sharing Competition Heats Up". Forbes. Retrieved 17 July 2013. 
  5. Lagorio, Christine and Markowitz, Eric (23 May 2013). "Lyft's New $60M: How the Deal Went Down". Inc. Magazine. Retrieved 17 July 2013. 
  6. Gannes, Liz (12 Jul 2013). "Lyft Sells Zimride Carpool Service to Rental-Car Giant Enterprise". All Things D. Retrieved 17 July 2013. 
  7. "Lyft Is Expanding Its Ride-Sharing Service To Silicon Valley". Retrieved July 1, 2016. 
  8. "Lyft cuts prices nationwide by 20%, temporarily stops taking commission from drivers - GeekWire". Geekwire.com. Retrieved August 27, 2016. 
  9. 9.0 9.1 "Lyft Reintroduces Commissions on Rides, With a Twist - Digits". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved August 27, 2016. 
  10. "Lyft Launches In 24 New Markets, Cuts Fares By Another 10%". Retrieved July 1, 2016. 
  11. "Lyft Goes Swift: How (And Why) It Rewrote Its App From Scratch In Apple's New Language". Fastcompany.com. Retrieved August 21, 2016. 
  12. CHRISTINE LAGORIO-CHAFKIN (25 July 2014). "Lyft in New York City: Let's Try This One More Time". Inc. Monsueto Ventures. Retrieved 27 July 2014. 
  13. Associated Press (27 January 2015). "Lyft drops pink furry mustache, debuts 'glowstache'". New York Post. New York Post. Retrieved 2 June 2015. 
  14. "Lyft and Uber in New York: Only one is facing a restraining order.". Slate.com. Retrieved July 1, 2016. 
  15. "With Lyft Line, Passengers Can Split Fares For Shared Rides". TechCrunch. Retrieved July 1, 2016. 
  16. "Is Uber Operation Slog Legal - Business Insider". Businessinsider.com. Retrieved July 1, 2016. 
  17. "Uber CEO On Messing With Lyft's Funding - Business Insider". Businessinsider.com. Retrieved July 1, 2016. 
  18. "Lyft Accuses Former COO Of Stealing Confidential Documents Before Joining Uber". Retrieved July 1, 2016. 
  19. "Lyft, Uber settle lawsuit that might have aired sensitive details - Silicon Valley Business Journal". Bizjournals.com. Retrieved July 1, 2016. 
  20. "Lyft Raises $530 Million". The New York Times. March 12, 2015. Retrieved August 27, 2016. 
  21. "Lyft gets back to Zimride roots with Lyft Carpool". TechCrunch. Retrieved July 1, 2016. 
  22. "Lyft Hires Amazon Executive as Chief Operating Officer". The New York Times. 2015-04-09. Retrieved August 27, 2016. 
  23. Jason Redmond (12 March 2015). "Latest Rakuten-led funding values Lyft at $2.5 billion". Reuters.  http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/03/12/us-lyft-financing-idUSKBN0M80DJ20150312
  24. Etherington, Darrell (15 May 2015). "Lyft Raises An Additional $150M, Including $100M From Carl Icahn". TechCrunch. TechCrunch. Retrieved 2 June 2015. 
  25. "Lyft To Uber: The Race Is On". Fastcompany.com. Retrieved July 1, 2016. 
  26. Buhr, Sarah (September 16, 2015). "China's Didi Kuaidi Put $100M Into Lyft, Inks Ridesharing Alliance To Rival Uber". TechCrunch. Retrieved October 18, 2015. 
  27. "Lyft Announces Second Engineering Hub In Seattle". Retrieved July 1, 2016. 
  28. Lunden, Ingrid; Buhr, Sarah (December 3, 2015). "Lyft, Didi, Ola And GrabTaxi Partner In Global Tech, Service Alliance To Rival Uber". TechCrunch. Retrieved December 5, 2015. 
  29. Purnell, Newley (December 3, 2015). "Four Uber Rivals Are Now in International Alliance". Wall Street Journal. Retrieved December 5, 2015. 
  30. "General Motors Invests $500 Million in Lyft, Sees A Self-Driving Future". Retrieved 2 June 2016. 
  31. "General Motors, Gazing at Future, Invests $500 Million in Lyft". The New York Times. January 4, 2016. Retrieved August 27, 2016. 
  32. "Lyft and GM are expanding their car rental program into three more cities - Recode". Recode.net. Retrieved July 1, 2016. 
  33. "GM, Lyft to Test Self-Driving Electric Taxis". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved August 27, 2016. 
  34. Kolodny, Lora (May 9, 2016). "Uber and Lyft 'pause' Austin operations today in standoff over regulation". TechCrunch. Retrieved August 14, 2016. 
  35. MacMillan, Douglas; Silverman, Rachel Emma (May 9, 2016). "Uber, Lyft Shut Down in Austin Over Fingerprint Vote. Ride-hailing companies suspend operations in Austin". Wall Street Journal. Retrieved August 14, 2016. 
  36. Tepper, Fitz (May 7, 2016). "Uber and Lyft shut down in Austin after voters defeat Proposition 1". TechCrunch. Retrieved August 14, 2016. 
  37. Woodyard, Chris; Toppo, Greg (May 8, 2016). "Uber, Lyft halt Austin service after losing vote". USA Today. Retrieved August 14, 2016. 
  38. "Lyft will now let you schedule trips ahead of time". Retrieved June 26, 2016. 
  39. "Wal-Mart to Test Grocery Delivery With Uber and Lyft". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved August 27, 2016. 
  40. "Lyft Hires M&A Banker Qatalyst Partners". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved July 1, 2016. 
  41. "Lyft Is Said to Seek a Buyer, Without Success". The New York Times. Retrieved August 22, 2016. 
  42. Newcomer, Eric; Wang, Selina (August 1, 2016). "In Deal With Didi, Uber Frees Itself to Expand in Other Markets". Bloomberg News. Retrieved August 14, 2016. 
  43. "What Didi Chuxing's Allies Had to Say About Its Merger With Uber China". Fortune.com. Retrieved August 27, 2016. 
  44. Russell, Jon; Lunden, Ingrid (August 1, 2016). "Confirmed: Didi buys Uber China in a bid for profit, will keep Uber brand". TechCrunch. Retrieved August 14, 2016. 
  45. Russell, Jon (August 1, 2016). "Uber's deal with Didi is a win-win for everyone — except the 'Anti-Uber Alliance'". TechCrunch. Retrieved August 14, 2016. 
  46. Lacy, Sarah (August 2, 2016). "Welcome to the new Uber-Didi duopoly, suckers! The three options Lyft has left". PandoDaily. Retrieved August 14, 2016.