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Inside Grab: From 2012 to Now Into a $12.1 billion business

Startup Type:

Headquarter: Singapore, Singapore

Current Status: Active (public via SPAC since 2021)

Founders: Anthony Tan, Tan Hooi Ling

Founded Year: 2012

Investors: SoftBank, Didi Chuxing, Toyota Motor Corp.

Funding Raised: $12.1 billion

What Is the business model of Grab?

Super-app offering ride-hailing, food delivery, digital payments, and other on-demand services across Southeast Asia; monetizes via ride/delivery commissions and financial services fees

How Grab got started?

Began in 2012 as GrabTaxi in Malaysia, when Harvard classmate Anthony Tan created a taxi-hailing mobile app to improve safety, later moved HQ to Singapore and expanded services across Southeast Asian countries, rebranding simply as Grab

what growth strategy has Grab followed?

Executed aggressive localization and diversification – offering localized services and adding financial services for the unbanked, used heavy subsidies and promotions funded by massive investment to outcompete rivals and become the region’s super-app

what are the top products/features of Grab

Grab ride-hailing, GrabFood delivery, GrabPay digital wallet, GrabExpress parcel delivery

what was the biggest challenge faced by Grab?

Operating in diverse regulatory and competitive environments across Southeast Asia, including challenging incumbent local transport operators and managing a costly rivalry with Uber (which it eventually acquired in the region in 2018, drawing antitrust scrutiny)