General Motors (GM) is the latest big brand to join the sharing economy. Paul Sawyers (@psawyers) of VentureBeat discusses how the major automotive company will partner with San Francisco based ride-sharing company Lyft. This is part of a 1 billion dollar round of funding Lyft has received from several new and existing investors.

Being a San Francisco based company ourselves, we’re excited to hear about this partnership and how it will secure long-term profitability for them. Prior to this deal, Lyft received 1.2 billion dollars in funding. For a company that’s only 3 years old, this latest cash influx is a testament to it’s best practices, and the speed in which sharing economy companies are growing.

Beyond the major cash influx, the partnership also supports plans to create a network of autonomous cars. In a press release, GM president Dan Ammann said,

“We see the future of personal mobility as connected, seamless and autonomous. With GM and Lyft working together, we believe we can successfully implement this vision more rapidly.”

In an interview with Buzzfeed, Zimmer predicted that Lyft would have driverless vehicles within the next 10 years. But they will reap the fruits of their partnership much sooner with GM becoming a “preferred partner” to Lyft drivers through various hubs across the country.

As major players Uber, Google and Apple embark on self-driving models, it’s clear to see where the future is heading. This is why a long-established company and a peer-to-peer business are teaming up to make sure neither one is left behind.

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