Lyft said to have raised over $500M, at a $6.9B valuation

Lyft has just raised a big new round, according to a new report from the Financial Times. The round brings in over $500 million in new funding, and sets the valuation for the ride hailing company at $6.9 billion (pre-money), which is well north of their $4.5 billion (again, pre-money) valuation from their previous funding round in January of last year.

Even at $6.9 billion, Lyft is still worth ten times less than its rival Uber, according to the FT, which has a $61.2 billion total pre-money valuation. The new $500 million round could climb to around $600 million prior to close, the report says, once all investors are in.

Lyft’s last public round was a $1 billion round featuring a $500 million investment from GM, which is partnering with the ride hailing business on a number of fronts, including on a pilot of a self-driving service and an arrangement regarding short-term rentals of vehicles for Lyft drivers without their own cars.

Back in early March, TechCrunch reported that Lyft was seeking a valuation of around $6 billion with this funding, and the Wall Street Journal reported that it was looking to put together a $500 million round. The new Financial Times report backs this claim, though it seems the valuation has climbed.

Lyft is likely capitalizing on the recent reversals faced by its chief rival Uber, which is dealing with sexual harassment and internal cultural issues, a public CEO outburst, self-driving program hiccups and more. That’s one way to boost your perceived value.

We contacted Lyft for more information, but did not immediately received a response.