--- description: The ride-sharing service still trails its much larger competitor title: Uber Rival Lyft Valued at $2.5 billion image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt0f8f628a719e420b/69869b75cd6848ace4095a16/lyft-car.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Business](/section/business/) ## Business Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Companies](/tag/companies/) ## Companies Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Uber Rival Lyft Valued at $2.5 Billion  by [Noah Rayman](/author/noah-rayman/)  ## Noah Rayman Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Mar 12, 2015 1:13 PM CUT  A Lyft car drives along Powell Street on June 12, 2014 in San Francisco, California. A Lyft car drives along Powell Street on June 12, 2014 in San Francisco, California.Justin Sullivan—Getty Images  by [Noah Rayman](/author/noah-rayman/)  ## Noah Rayman Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Mar 12, 2015 1:13 PM CUT Investments in the ride-sharing firm Lyft have valued the company founded three years ago at roughly $2.5 billion. Lyft raised $530 million in its latest round of funding, including $300 million from Japanese online retailer Rakuten Inc., as it looks to continue expanding, Reuters reports. But the private company still lags behind Uber, the[ largest startup ](http://graphics.wsj.com/billion-dollar-club/ "undefined")in the U.S, which has also rapidly expanded abroad. Uber is valued at around $40 billion. \[[Reuters](http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/03/12/us-lyft-financing-idUSKBN0M80DJ20150312 "undefined")\] _Read next:_ [_Uber, Lyft Lawsuits Could Spell Trouble For the On-Demand Economy_](http://time.com/3742608/uber-lyft-lawsuits/?iid=time%5Freadnext "undefined") ### See Uber Protests From Around the World  French Taxi drivers burn tires as they protest in the southern city of Marseille on June 25, 2015 as they demonstrate against UberPOP, a popular taxi app that is facing fierce opposition from traditional cabs. Anne-Christine Poujoulat—AFP/Getty Images  Police officers in riot gear attempt to flip a car back onto it's wheels at Porte Maillot on June 25, 2015 in Paris. Protesters blocked roads to airports and train stations, overturning cars and setting tires on fire. Guillaume de Senneville—Demotix/Corbis  Hundreds of taxi drivers gather next to the Olympia Stadium to protest ride-sharing apps on June 11, 2014 in Berlin. Sean Gallup—Getty Images  A demonstrator kicks a car, suspected of being a private taxi during a 24 hour taxi strike and protest in Madrid on June 11, 2014. Paul White—AP  A taxi driver listens to speeches by his colleagues, during an Europe-wide protest of licensed taxi drivers against taxi hailing apps that are feared to flush unregulated private drivers into the market, in front of the Olympic stadium in Berlin on June 11, 2014. Thomas Peter—Reuters  Taxi drivers hold a banner during a protest in Barcelona on June 11, 2014. Josep Lago—AFP/Getty Images  London taxi's line up on The Mall during a protest against a new smart phone app, 'Uber' on June 11, 2014 in London. Dan Kitwood—Getty Images  Taxi drivers park their cars and honk the horn in protest on Pennsylvania Avenue, bringing street traffic to a stop as they demand an end to ride sharing services such as Uber X and Lyft on June 25, 2014, in Washington. PAUL J. RICHARDS—AFP/Getty Images  An Italian taxi driver distributes leaflets reading "Don't take an illegal taxi, take a white regular taxi" during a protest on June 11, 2014 in Rome. ANDREAS SOLARO—AFP/Getty Images  Taxis drivers block a highway outside Paris, near Roissy on June 11, 2014, as they take part in a demonstration to protest the growing number of minicabs, known in France as Voitures de Tourisme avec Chauffeurs (VTC). Fred Dufour—AFP/Getty Images [_Listen to the most important stories of the day._](http://time.com/newsletter/the-brief/?sl%5Fautoplay=true&xid=spl-fullbrief-article "undefined") ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3741987/lyft-valued-at-2-5-billion/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3741987/lyft-valued-at-2-5-billion/"},"headline":"Uber Rival Lyft Valued at $2.5 Billion","datePublished":"2015-03-12T13:13:45.000Z","dateModified":"2026-05-11T05:05:06.758Z","description":"The ride-sharing service still trails its much larger competitor","url":"https://time.com/3741987/lyft-valued-at-2-5-billion/","keywords":["Companies","Uber","Lyft","ridesharing"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt0f8f628a719e420b/69869b75cd6848ace4095a16/lyft-car.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Noah Rayman","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/noah-rayman/"}],"articleSection":"Business","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt0f8f628a719e420b/69869b75cd6848ace4095a16/lyft-car.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Lyft Car","caption":"Lyft Car","creditText":"Justin Sullivan—Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/business/","name":"Business"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/companies/","name":"Companies"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3741987/lyft-valued-at-2-5-billion/","name":"Uber Rival Lyft Valued at $2.5 Billion"}}]}] ```