Grab (GrabTaxi)

Grab (also known as GrabTaxi) is a Malaysian company that provides taxis and logistics services through its application in Singapore and neighboring countries - Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines, Vietnam, Thailand, Myanmar and Cambodia as of October 2018 .

History

2021: Access to Nasdaq, estimated at $40 billion

On December 2, 2021, Grab, the largest passenger delivery company in Southeast Asia, soared and fell more than 20% during its debut on the Nasdaq exchange after a record $40 billion SPAC merger.

Shares of the leading "super enterprise" of Southeast Asia opened on December 3 from $13.06, which is 19% higher than the value of shares on December 2, and then fell 20.5% to close at $8.75. During the extended session, shares rose 3.4% to $9.05.

Singapore taxi order service goes to Nasdaq at an estimate of $40 billion

Grab completed a merger with specialist company Altimeter Growth, which valued Grab at almost $40 billion, making it the largest SPAC deal ever.

This is a time for Southeast Asia, and we hope that our entry into the global public market will help draw more attention to the huge opportunities here in the region, "said Grab CEO Anthony Tan in a press release.

The listing of the backdoor on Nasdaq marks the climax for a nine-year-old Singapore company. Grab launched the largest listing in the United States of companies from Southeast Asia, holding an event in Singapore, organized by Nasdaq and Grab executives.

The event was attended by about 250 people, including investors, drivers, sellers and employees, many of whom were dressed in the company's branded green color. The hotel hall erupted with applause when an emotional Tan thanked them for bringing the Southeast Asian technology economy to the global map.

In the long run, we are very excited about Grab Financial Group, said Chris Conforti, partner at Altimeter Capital, referring to Grab's financial services division. - I think that the curve of the bell for this is much wider in terms of what the result can be, it can be extremely large.[1]

2018: Microsoft Investment and Partnership

On October 9, 2018, it became known that Grab would receive investments from Microsoft, estimated at $200 million. In addition, Grab will use Microsoft Azure and other Microsoft technologies. Earlier this year, Grab bought Uber's business in eight countries, completely displacing it from Southeast Asia. The volume of investments was not disclosed, however, according to sources of the Financial Times, it is about $200 million. However, both companies deny this information.

In addition, the parties entered into a five-year strategic partnership agreement, under the terms of which Grab will use the Microsoft Azure service as the preferred cloud platform, as well as use Microsoft technologies to improve and expand its mobile application. In addition, users will be able to order a Grab taxi through the Microsoft Outlook postal service. Grab will also introduce the Microsoft Kaizala corporate group messenger as a pilot project.

In addition, Grab and Microsoft intend to jointly develop facial recognition technology that will help control which driver the passenger got to.

Grab will also use Microsoft technologies to create a real-time computer translator. Microsoft solutions in data analysis and user behavior, fraud detection, machine learning and computer vision should help Grab personalize customer offerings and improve card quality.

As Grab President Ming Maa explained to CNBC, the main thing in the agreement with Microsoft is not the actual amount of investment, but the fact that an American company can help a six-year-old startup "scale beyond where we are." Microsoft money will be spent on improving passenger safety and user experience, he said.

In addition, in November 2018, Grab expects to receive other large investments - Japanese Softbank it intends to invest $500 million in it. The Financial Times writes that two more investors will join Microsoft and Softbank - one global and one Asian, both have not previously invested in Grab - due to which the total investment in the service for the year will exceed $3 million. Maa confirmed this figure to CNBC.

In this case, the total volume of investments attracted by Grab will reach $6.7 billion, and the company's capitalization will approach $12 billion. In June 2018, Grab received $2 billion from Toyota and other investors.

Grab is developing areas such as healthcare, food delivery and mobile payments, that is, it is trying to turn into an "app for everything."^[2]

Notes