Waymo self-driving ridesharing service releases iOS app
Waymo, the self-driving ridesharing service from Google parent company Alphabet, is now available as an app in the App Store.
Ride sharing
Would you wait longer for a less expensive Uber ride?
Uber is testing a new service that offers customers a less expensive fare if they agree to wait a little bit longer for a ride.
Uber brings back Siri and Maps integration [u]
Users can once again ask Siri to hail an Uber or take advantage of its ride-booking extension in Apple Maps, the two features that were inexplicably removed from the app in January, suggesting the error originated with the app itself.
Uber update drops compatibility with Apple Maps extensions and Siri integration
Bad news for Uber fans looking to hail rides within Apple’s Maps app as the company has pulled its Maps extension and Siri integration from a recent update, released on January 22.
Apple-backed Didi Chuxing raises $5.5+ billion from investors for international expansion
An Apple-backed ride-hailing service has raised more than $5.5 billion from investors in the latest round of financing, raising its market valuation to about $50 billion.
Chinese ride-hailing service Didi to receive $5B in funding for automated driving expansion
The funding could lift Didi’s valuation to $50 billion, beating handset maker Xiaomi to become China’s top startup and the most valuable startup in the world after Uber.
NYT: Lyft unsuccessfully attempts to sell itself to Apple, Google, Uber and others
Despite not being in danger of closing down thanks to its cash cushion of $1.4 billion, the popular ride-sharing service Lyft has in recent months attempted to sell itself to Apple and a few other Silicon Valley giants like Google, Amazon and Uber, The New York Times reported yesterday. None of the mentioned companies commented on the story.
The nation’s second-largest ride-hailing firm also attempted a sale to China’s leading ride-sharing service, Didi Chuxing, into which Apple invested $1 billion, and to General Motors, one of its largest investors that refused to make a written offer to buy it.
Apple-backed Didi Chuxing buys rival Uber China
Now we (probably) know why Apple poured a cool $1 billion into China’s leading ride-sharing service Didi Chuxing as that company’s just invested—you guessed right—$1 billion into its biggest rival, Uber China. The transaction, subject to closing conditions, will also give a 20 percent stake in the combined firm for Uber and its shareholders, said Bloomberg.
