General Motors has bought the assets and technology of ride-sharing provider Sidecar as the company gears up to address competition from companies like Uber.
The company had recently invested $500m in Lyft, a ride-sharing provider.
For some years now, Sidecar has been facing tough competition against Lyft and Uber in terms of market share and shut down its services at the end of last year.
While closing the service Sidecar said in a post: "We are the innovation leader in ridesharing despite a significant capital disadvantage, continually rolling out new products that set the bar for others to follow.
"Long ago we conceived of the technology that gave rise to the rideshare movement. And nearly four years ago we invented what is now known as "ridesharing" with an app that connected riders with everyday drivers in their personal vehicle."
GM has not only bought the assets and technology, but it will also bringing in 20 Sidecar employees on-board, including co-founder and chief technology officer, Jahan Khanna. Co-founder and CEO Sunil Paul will not joining GM.
Though the price paid for the acquisition has not been disclosed officially, some believe that it is not less than $39m.
With these moves, it can be speculated that GM wants to make a foray into the ride-sharing market with its own fleet of self-driving cars and technology. According to Bloomberg, GM has nicknamed its transportation service as Maven which it is planning to launch soon.
According to the report, GM has registered it as a trademark in late November, 2015 at the US Patents and Trademark Office, as an "Application software for connecting vehicle drivers and passengers and for coordinating transportation services; software for use in planning, monitoring and controlling urban transportation."
GM is not the only player who wants to make big in the ride-sharing market as companies like Ford and Diamler are also planning to start their own services.
