According to Wall Street Journal, ride-sharing service Lyft Inc. is getting a boost from Saudi Arabia's Prince al-Waleed bin Talal.

The prince disclosed on Thursday that his Kingdom Holding Co. investment company is paying $104.9 million for a 2.3% stake as part of a larger investment by an unnamed group spending $247.7 million for a 5.3% of the San Francisco-based company. The purchase boosts Lyft's estimated value to $4.92 billion.

Mr. Alwaleed isn't likely to catch a Lyft ride anytime soon from his Saudi Arabian home. The service operates only in the U.S. after it scaled back plans to expand overseas.

Lyft, like its well-known rival Uber Technologies Inc., offers on-demand rides from a pool of drivers through its smartphone app. The two have been expanding--and raising funds--rapidly as such services take hold in competition with traditional taxis.

Although it does not operate overseas, Lyft has taken investment from China's largest ride-share provider, Didi Kuaidi, and struck an alliance with other local players around the globe.

Despite the lift from Mr. Alwaleed, Lyft is still valued at a fraction of Uber, which recently raised funds at as much as a $64.6 billion valuation. Uber is in many overseas markets, including the Saudi capital, Riyadh.

Earlier this month, Lyft filed paperwork in Delaware authorizing the sale of as much as $1 billion in new preferred shares. That ultimately could give Lyft a $5.75 billion valuation, according to private market data firm VC Experts.

Through his Kingdom Holding, Mr. Alwaleed is an investor in a diverse set of industries, including agriculture, health care and hotels. The firm is an investor in Apple Inc., social media company Twitter Inc., and News Corp, parent company of The Wall Street Journal.