Microsoft pours capital into Grab

October 10, 2018 | 09:42

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In line with the trend of ride-hailing firms receiving investment from technology giants, Grab in the morning of October 9 announced to get a five-year investment from Microsoft.

Microsoft will enter into a co-operation with Grab for five years (Source: Shutterstock)

The technology giant will enter into cooperation with the ride-hailing platform to invest in technology segments, including artificial intelligence (AI), Big Data, and mobile solutions. specifically, Microsoft and Grab will jointly develop new facial recognition technologies to improve safety for both of drivers and passengers, upgrading the quality of the Grab platform’s map and forecasting, as well as preventing fraud on the platform. However, the value of the deal has not been revealed.

The deal between Grab and Microsoft was announced after a significant number of international news stated that SoftBank is planning to pour $500 million added capital into the leading Southeast Asian ride-hailing platform.

Since early 2018, Grab successfully called for $2 billion of investment from Japanese car maker Toyota and several financial funds, including Vulcan Capital and Microsoft’s co-establisher Paul Allen.

After six years of operation, Grab is currently present in 235 cities of eight countries in Southeast Asia. After successfully purchasing its once rival Uber earlier this year in the region, Grab has set sights on expanding into new segments like delivery, food delivery, and e-payment.

Its current biggest competitor Go-Jek is also supposed to call for at least $2 billion of added investment to broaden its business.

By Van Anh

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