Ride services providers are starting to plan their IPOs
Investors who want to see self-driving cars in the near future could be tempted to invest into a ride services firm’s planned initial public offering (IPO).
After Uber's announcement recently about their tentative plans for a public offering in the next 18 to 36 months, San Francisco-based Lyft is reportedly in talks with an IPO advisory firm.
According to a Reuters report, Lyft was valued at US$7.5 billion in its latest fundraising, whilst its bigger rival Uber is valued at US$68 billion.
Gartner research director Mike Ramsey said an IPO by a ride services provider would put to test the belief of many industry players saying individual auto ownership will start to wane as Lyft, Uber, and other sharing economy firms gain traction.
"A Lyft IPO is going to tell us what the valuations of these mobility services companies really are,” Ramsey noted.
And, with these firms engineering self-driving cars, IPOs would signal how disruptive private investors think the technology would be.
Industry experts say an owner-driven vehicle traverses a mile for between 60 cents and US$1. A mile using Lyft or Uber costs as much as US$3. Experts believe that with the artificial intelligence, costs could be trimmed down by two-thirds.
"An IPO that values Lyft higher than its current $7.5 billion is a step in a long journey toward self-driving vehicles," LMC Automotive senior vice president Jeff Schuster said.
For more of Wealth Professional's latest industry news, click here.
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After Uber's announcement recently about their tentative plans for a public offering in the next 18 to 36 months, San Francisco-based Lyft is reportedly in talks with an IPO advisory firm.
According to a Reuters report, Lyft was valued at US$7.5 billion in its latest fundraising, whilst its bigger rival Uber is valued at US$68 billion.
Gartner research director Mike Ramsey said an IPO by a ride services provider would put to test the belief of many industry players saying individual auto ownership will start to wane as Lyft, Uber, and other sharing economy firms gain traction.
"A Lyft IPO is going to tell us what the valuations of these mobility services companies really are,” Ramsey noted.
And, with these firms engineering self-driving cars, IPOs would signal how disruptive private investors think the technology would be.
Industry experts say an owner-driven vehicle traverses a mile for between 60 cents and US$1. A mile using Lyft or Uber costs as much as US$3. Experts believe that with the artificial intelligence, costs could be trimmed down by two-thirds.
"An IPO that values Lyft higher than its current $7.5 billion is a step in a long journey toward self-driving vehicles," LMC Automotive senior vice president Jeff Schuster said.
For more of Wealth Professional's latest industry news, click here.
Related stories:
Why emerging markets could be the best option
Inside Canada’s newest capital pool company
