Lyft valued at $15 billion in latest funding round

Lyft Inc. said on Wednesday it raised $600 million in a new funding round led by Fidelity Management, doubling the ride-hailing firm’s valuation to $15.1 billion in little over a year.

The funding makes Fidelity one of Lyft’s largest investors with $800 million in investment. Lyft, which has 35 percent market share in the United States, has investors including AllianceBernstein, Baillie Gifford, and KKR & Co.

Rival Uber in May said it would hold a secondary stock sale for employees and existing investors that would value the company at $62 billion, up from the $48 billion valuation it commanded in a secondary sale late last year.

Lyft operates in roughly the same number of US cities as Uber, as well as in Toronto, Canada. Uber operates across the globe, although it has retreated from Southeast Asia, Russia and China after losing billions of dollars competing with local rivals. —Reuters