Apoorv Anupam
06 March 2019, India:
Grab today announced it has secured US$1.46 billion of fresh funding from the Softbank Vision Fund (“SVF”). Toyota Motor Corporation, Oppenheimer Funds, Hyundai Motor Group, Booking Holdings, Microsoft Corporation, Ping An Capital, and Yamaha Motor also participated in the funding round.
This capital injection from SVF brings the total financing secured in Grab’s current Series H round to over $4.5 billion.
Grab will use the fresh capital to advance its super app vision in Southeast Asia, with the aim of bringing more every day services, greater accessibility and convenience to users. The company plans to expand its verticals such as financial services, food delivery, parcel delivery, content and digital payments, and roll out new services announced in 2018.
Built on Grab’s open platform, GrabPlatform, these services include on-demand video, in partnership with HOOQ; digital healthcare, in partnership with Ping An Good Doctor; insurance, in partnership with ZhongAn International; and hotel bookings, in partnership with Booking Holdings.
The company said in a statement that they plans to invest a significant portion of fresh proceeds in Indonesia. The company will also use the fresh capital to boost the expansion of GrabFood and GrabExpress and roll out new verticals in the country.
Anthony Tan, CEO and Co-founder, Grab said, “SoftBank and the Vision Fund are long-standing strategic investors and we are grateful for their continued support. The investment is a clear statement of belief in our vision to grow Southeast Asia’s technology ecosystem as the region’s Number 1 super app.”
Anthony Tan, added, “Looking ahead, we aim to continue improving the lives of many millions of Southeast Asians by providing enhanced income opportunities through our platform, and giving our users more choice and convenience.”
David Thevenon, Partner at SoftBank Investment Advisers, said, “We have been working alongside Grab for a number of years and are privileged to support the evolution of its user-driven technologies. This investment will help the company explore exciting new opportunities across on-demand mobility, delivery and financial services as it continues to grow its offline-to-online platform across Southeast Asia.”
Ming Maa, President, Grab, said, “We have been blessed with overwhelming shareholder support in our current fundraising round, with strong interest both in terms of capital invested and the quality of strategic partners seeking to support the continued development of Grab. We continue to receive new investor interest and look forward to welcoming more global industry leaders as partners in 2019.”
(Image – Grab)