Grab, the leading ride-hailing platform in Southeast Asia, has raised US$750 million in equity financing, increasing its total capital position to over US$1 billion. SoftBank, a long-term strategic partner to Grab, led the oversubscribed round, with participation from both new and existing investors.
Grab claims to be the largest transportation network operator in Southeast Asia and is one of the most frequently used mobile platforms in the region with up to 1.5 million daily bookings. Grab offers private car, motorbike, taxi, and carpooling services across 6 countries and 31 cities in Southeast Asia, with 1 out of every 4 passengers using multiple services.
Grab plans to leverage the latest round of funding to continue expanding its transportation services in Southeast Asia, home to 620 million people, and a rising population of middle class and mobile users, especially in Indonesia.
It also plans to further develop its mobile payment platform GrabPay in Southeast Asia, as well looking into enhancing driving efficiency through machine learning and data science capabilities.
Anthony Tan, Group CEO & Co-founder
This latest funding, the largest in the history of Southeast Asia consumer technology, strengthens our ability to pursue those long-term goals as we continue to build on our market leadership. We are particularly excited about the growth opportunity in Indonesia, where we see an almost US$15 billion market for ride-hailing services alone, as well as the potential to extend GrabPay’s (Grab’s cashless payment method) platform regionally.
Masayoshi Son, Chairman & CEO, SoftBank Group
Grab is the clear winner in the Southeast Asia mobile space. Anthony and his team have made impressive progress in building out Southeast Asia’s largest mobile internet company.
