BizSugar.com › Finance › Uber rival Lyft now valued at $US2.5 billion

Ride-sharing startup Lyft has raised $US530 million ($A688 million) in Series E funding.

The round was led by Japanese e-commerce business Rakuten, which INVESTED$US300 million in return for an 11.9% stake in the startup. That puts Lyft’s valuation at around $US2.5 billion.

In a statement, Lyft said the funding will be used to deepen its US footprint, hire staff, develop technology, and expand its carpooling service Lyft Line.