‘Super-app’ Grab expects to raise another $2bn in funding this year
Grab said it expects to end the year having raised $6.5bn* after already securing $4.5bn from investors in its current round of funding.
‘Super-app’ Grab expects to raise another $2bn in funding this year
The super-app – so called because it allows users to book everything from a cab and food delivery to at-home beauticians as well as manage subscription, read news and pay for goods - has expanded rapidly in Southeast Asia since launching in 2012.
Per a report in March, the company was worth over $14bn.
The confidence that it will receive the funding came following a meeting between chief executive Anthony Tan and SoftBank founder Masayoshi San – whose Vision Fund fund last month awarded Grab $1.46bn investment – who he said gave “unlimited support to power [Grab’s] growth.”
"The support from strategic investors like SoftBank and others, will allow us to grow very aggressively this year across our verticals of payments, transport and food,” said Tan. “At our current growth rates, we expect to be four times bigger than our closest competitor in Indonesia and across the region by the end of the year. As we grow to become the leading super app in Southeast Asia, we see massive opportunities to expand our business and continue to serve our customers, driver-partners and merchants across Southeast Asia.”
Grab’s Indonesian business saw revenue more than doubling in 2018. It now has a 62% share of the ride-hailing market according to ABI Research
It said it could maintain this growth through “aggressive” investments and acquisitions, eyeing at least six M&A deals in the region in 2019. Last March, it acquired Uber’s South East Asian operations in March 2018 with the US-headquartered rival in turn acquiring a 27.5% stake in Grab's business.
*all financial figures are reported in US dollars.
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