Grab Snatches Up $2 Billion To Fast-Track Growth, Expansion

Grab, a ride-hailing company in Southeast Asia, announced Thursday (August 2)  it has raised an additional $1 billion from a handful of financial firms, bringing its total with the round to $2 billion.

In a press release, Grab said OppenheimerFunds, Ping An Capital, Mirae Asset-Naver Asia Growth Fund, Cinda Sino-Rock Investment Management Company, All-Stars Investment, Vulcan Capital, Lightspeed Venture Partners, Macquarie Capital and other investors joined Toyota Motor in investing in the company. In June, Toyota Motor agreed to pay $1 billion for a stake in Grab, acting as the lead investor in a round of funding.

“We are honoured to welcome these top-tier financial institutions into our roster of strategic investors and partners,” Grab President Ming Maa said in the press release. “We have seen overwhelming interest from global strategic investors and partners who are keen to partner with us to capture the region’s booming growth.” The company said it will use the funding to expand its service and to become the “everyday super app of choice for millions in the region.” Grab said in the press release it’s looking to broaden its offering of services via partnerships. It noted that it recently announced GrabFresh, an on demand grocery delivery service in Jakarta.

In June Grab rolled out a suite of application programming interfaces (APIs) for developers, dubbed GrabPlatform. The platform is designed to help developers integrate their services within the company’s app, allowing them to leverage Grab’s user base along with its distribution channels, the company said in an announcement. “GrabPlatform amplifies economic value for all of Southeast Asia, even more than what we could ever create by ourselves,” Grab CEO and co-founder Anthony Tan said. With the new version of Grab, the app comes with an updated home screen that includes easier access to payments. It also includes easy navigation to everyday services and a news feed that shows seasonal information and location reviews. In the announcement, Grab also unveiled GrabFresh, integrated with Southeast Asian grocery delivery provider HappyFresh.