Lyft is the first tech unicorn to head to the stock exchange in 2019. 

The ride-hailing company on Friday publicly filed with the US Securities and Exchange Commission for what could be as much as a $25 billion initial public offering. Lyft will list on the Nasdaq using the ticker symbol LYFT. Its IPO could come as soon as early April. 

Lyft said in the filing its aim is to "improve people's lives with the best transportation" and it "started a movement to revolutionize transportation" when it launched its ride-hailing service in 2012.

When private companies go public it gives people a chance to learn more about previously undisclosed internal workings. In its filing, Lyft said it served 30.7 million riders in the US and Canada in 2018 and that it had 1.9 million drivers last year. It also handled more than 1 billion rides. 

As far as financials go, the company said it garnered $2.2 billion in sales in 2018 on $8.1 billion in bookings, showing year-over-year growth of 103 percent in sales and 76 percent in bookings. However, it also lost $911.3 million in 2018, up from a net loss of $682.8 million in 2016 and $688.3 million in 2017.

The company said it's going after the $1.2 trillion that US consumers spend on personal transportation every year. "On a per household basis, the average annual spend on transportation is over $9,500, with the substantial majority spent on car ownership and operation. Yet, the average car is utilized only 5 percent of the time and remains parked and unused the other 95 percent."

Lyft said its service is now available to 95 percent of the US population in more than 300 markets. It also said that last year "almost half of our riders reported that they use their cars less because of Lyft, and 22 percent reported that owning a car has become less important" to them. The company added that its active riders increased by 47 percent in the fourth quarter of 2018 compared to the same period in 2017.

Lyft has also gotten into the self-driving car business. In the filing, it said its goal with that endeavor is to ensure "access to affordable and reliable autonomous technology." Lyft said it's given 35,000 rides in autonomous vehicles accompanied by a safety driver since January 2018.

To spread its reach into cities, Lyft said it created relationships with more than 10,000 organizations, cities and municipalities to facilitate rides for their employees, customers and constituents. It also created exclusive marketing partnerships with brands like Delta Air Lines.

Lyft's service hinges on its contract drivers. The company said that over the course of its business, it's paid drivers a total of $10 billion in earnings. As a bonus for those drivers in good standing, who've completed at least 10,000 rides as of the end of this month, Lyft said it'd pay drivers as much as $10,000. That money could be used to buy shares in the company at the IPO price. 

Lyft didn't return a request for comment.

Galaxy S10 Plus ongoing review: Get the lowdown on what's good and bad so far.

5G and foldable phones go big at MWC 2019: With international intrigue and a 5G coming-out party, this show doesn’t need the boost of a Samsung event.