Lyft became the first ride-hailing app to go public on erotice playboy masterbatingFriday, skyrocketing to a $23.4 billion valuation.
But don’t get too excited for drivers. Investments in Uber and Lyft are basically big bets on future products like autonomous vehicles, not the people behind the wheel.
SEE ALSO: Lyft hits the stock market, sells shares for $72 in highly anticipated IPOAs we've seen, Lyft isn't profitable. Last year it lost nearly $1 billion. So it's not Lyft's cash flow bringing in investors — it's the company's growth and the potential of its platform.
"Wall Street is infamous for caring more about growth than profits," said Investing.com senior analyst Clement Thibault in an email. "Lyft is likely to get a pass on profitability if it can manage to continue its impressive growth streak."
Autonomous vehicles are already a major part of Lyft's strategy. It partnered with self-driving company Aptiv and opened a research facility in Silicon Valley called Level 5. Self-driving Lyfts are on the streets of Las Vegas.
Lyft has partnerships with companies to develop self-driving car tech, but unlike Uber and Alphabet's Waymo, it isn't building its own fleet of self-driving cars. Instead, it's showing how its platform can be incorporated into self-driving systems.
So it makes sense as autonomous vehicles (slowly) become a driving option — as we've seen with Waymo's self-driving taxi service in the Phoenix area — that Lyft, Uber, and other ride-sharing platforms are in a great position to offer autonomous service to customers.
GM's Cruise says it will launch a self-driving car service in San Francisco by the end of this year -- that means it needs a consumer-facing app and dispatching service for passengers to catch those rides. Lyft has been doing exactly that for years now -- the perfect partner for a company like GM.
The “self-driving car area will develop into future growth and it will bring significant profitability," said Georgetown McDonough School of Business professor Jason Schloetzer.
But Lyft isn't about to throw out all its drivers -- some of which were at the opening event Friday and will be offered stock in the company -- for self-driving vehicles. It'll be a mix, along with other "mobility" services" that will help the company expand. On the same day as its IPO, Lyft launched its "City Works" programin Los Angeles, promising to invest $50 million in city transit and sustainable energy systems.
This all isn't very reassuring to drivers who have been protesting the Lyft IPO in San Francisco and Southern California, where Uber changed driver pay for the worse, resulting in a 25-hour strike in the LA area. Lyft's new investors are going to want to see profit — and self-driving vehicles don’t demand higher pay.
This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.
Georgetown's Schloetzer sees thoughtful expansion into transit planning, city data sharing, and medical service rides as just some of the ways Lyft could become more than just a taxi service. You could theoretically use an app like Lyft to see a bus schedule or pay a subway fare. Doctors could arrange rides for elderly patients. Lyft could also provide data about ride-sharing, biking, and public transit usage -- for a cost.
Beat riding-hailing app CEO and founder Nick Drandakis sees Lyft's historic IPO as good news for the entire ride-sharing industry. In an email he wrote, "It means that riders trust the model and the industry has matured enough to go public. Ride-hailing is here to stay, changing forever the way people move in their cities and constantly evolving."
Lyft's IPO shows that even without profits, people want an app that can connect them to a ride. Soon, the question will be whether a human or robot picks you up.
Topics lyft
Best SSD deal: Save 40% on the Samsung 990 PRO 4TB SSD at Amazon'Y2K' review: Kyle Mooney combines 2000s nostalgia and roboYouTube places age restrictions on Balatro content, linking it to gamblingToday's Hurdle hints and answers for April 8, 2025Best speaker deal: Save $20 on the JBL Clip 5Yankees catcher Austin Wells goes viral with hilarious breakfast burrito reviewsBest Samsung deal: Save $160 on the Galaxy Tab S10+ at Best BuyNintendo exec explains $80 price of 'Mario Kart World,' what it means for Switch 2 gamesNYT Connections Sports Edition hints and answers for April 8: Tips to solve Connections #196People are panic buying iPhones ahead of possible price hikes, report claimsWordle today: The answer and hints for April 5, 2025Best Samsung deal: Save $160 on the Galaxy Tab S10+ at Best BuyBest speaker deal: Save $20 on the JBL Clip 5'A Nice Indian Boy' review: EastBest robot vacuum deal: Get the Shark Matrix Plus 2Today's Hurdle hints and answers for April 7, 2025Cozy games can help your mental health. Here's how.Today's Hurdle hints and answers for April 6, 2025Best iRobot Roomba j7+ Robot Vacuum deal: Save $300 at Best BuyApple planning massive redesign for iPhone 19 Pro, reports say Look out Substack, Ghost will join the fediverse this year How to change your iPhone name CATL denies reports of European Commission investigation of battery plant in Hungary · TechNode Brutal bug battle ends in a seriously surprising twist China approves 31 imported games in August, including titles by Tencent and NetEase · TechNode The EPA axed its climate change websites, but NASA's are still intact China Mobile launches 5G super network supporting the metaverse industry · TechNode Apple's FineWoven accessories might be on their way out Leading Chinese AI entrepreneurs held closed China introduces policies aimed at supporting young talent in sci Bibibili introduces Japanese hit game Pretty Derby in China · TechNode How to cancel Netflix iPad Air 2024: It’s not even out yet, but there’s already a case for it on Amazon Gemini, ChatGPT’s AI rival, tipped to get ‘real Chinese automaker GAC Group plans to accelerate international expansion · TechNode PDD reports 66% revenue surge and 47% profit growth in Q2 · TechNode Oppo launches Find N3 Flip, first clamshell foldable phone with three cameras · TechNode Cybertruck recall completes Tesla's humiliation Chinese automaker Neta completes crossover funding round of RMB 7 billion · TechNode Hellas Verona vs. Udinese 2024 livestream: Watch live Serie A football for free
2.0143s , 8286.078125 kb
Copyright © 2025 Powered by 【erotice playboy masterbating】,Steady Information Network