Grab raises USD 750 mn in SoftBank-led funding

Grab, a ride-hailing app that competes with Uber in the Southeast Asian market, has raised USD 750 million (about Rs 5,027 crore) in a funding round led by SoftBank.
The funding, which increases Grab's total capital position to over USD 1 billion, also saw participation from new and existing investors.
The fresh fund infusion is expected to further heat up competition with the US-based Uber that seeks to expand its operations in the Southeast Asian region after exiting China recently.
Interestingly, Japan's SoftBank has also invested a significant amount in Bengaluru-based Ola, which also at competition with Uber in the Indian market.

"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," Grab Group CEO and co-founder Anthony Tan said.
He added that the company is particularly excited about the growth opportunity in Indonesia, where it sees an almost USD 15 billion market for ride-hailing services alone, as well as the potential to extend GrabPay's platform regionally.

Previously, Grab has received investment from Coatue Management (a US investment firm), China's sovereign wealth fund, China Investment Corporation and Didi Kuaidi.
In December, Grab had partnered India's Ola, US-based Lyft and China's Didi for collaborating and leveraging each other's technology, local market knowledge and business resources.

Since its Series E funding in August 2015, Grab has nearly quadrupled its total number of drivers and active users, as well as rides volume.
The Grab app has been downloaded onto over 21 million mobile devices and users have access to over 4 lakh drivers.
With up to 1.5 million daily bookings, Grab offers private car, motorbike, taxi, and carpooling services across six countries, including Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, Philippines and Vietnam in 31 cities in Southeast Asia.