There’s no Uber in Vietnam or other Southeast Asian countries, and that’s because a local app named Grab (born out of Harvard) took them out, acquiring their holdings here in 2018, to become an absolutely dominant player, albeit with similar offerings. Grab Holdings is now synonymous with Southeast Asia’s digital economy, but its journey began as a safety-first taxi-hailing app in Kuala Lumpur. Over the past decade, it has grown into the region’s most prominent super-app, offering services that span ride-hailing, food delivery, payments, and financial services. Its trajectory is a case study in how localization, strategic acquisitions, and service diversification can build enduring market leadership.
A Harvard Business School Project That Took Off
The idea for Grab was born in 2011 at Harvard Business School, where Anthony Tan and Tan Hooi Ling began exploring ways to fix the taxi experience in Southeast Asia. Poor safety standards, unreliable service, and cash-only transactions were the norm in many cities.
Their concept — a mobile platform to connect passengers with vetted, licensed taxi drivers, earned second place in the school’s New Venture Competition and US $25,000 in seed funding. The pair launched the service in June 2012 as MyTeksi in Kuala Lumpur. The app offered driver verification, GPS-enabled tracking, and better accountability, features that quickly resonated with both passengers and drivers.
Cross-Border Growth and a New Identity
Demand for safer, more reliable transport was not limited to Malaysia. Within a year, MyTeksi expanded to the Philippines and Thailand under the GrabTaxi brand. By 2014, the company had moved its headquarters to Singapore to better manage regional operations and became the largest e-taxi network there.
The shift from GrabTaxi to simply Grab in 2016 reflected a broader ambition: moving beyond taxis into private car rides, motorbike services, and emerging delivery offerings. This rebrand positioned the company as a multi-service platform rather than a single-category app.
Winning with Hyperlocal Strategy
Grab’s rapid ascent can be traced to its deep understanding of Southeast Asian markets. In cities where cash remained king, Grab enabled cash payments alongside digital options. In traffic-heavy markets like Jakarta and Ho Chi Minh City, it prioritized motorbike rides to cut through congestion.
The company also invested in driver training programs to improve service quality and introduced features like ride tracking and in-app safety alerts to build trust. These measures strengthened customer loyalty and helped Grab outmaneuver global competitors such as Uber, which applied a more standardized global model.
The Super-App Era and a Landmark Acquisition
By the mid-2010s, Grab was no longer just a transportation service. It had begun developing a super-app model, integrating food delivery through GrabFood, cashless payments via GrabPay, and other lifestyle and logistics services.
In March 2018, the company made a defining move: acquiring Uber’s Southeast Asian operations in exchange for an equity stake. The deal removed its biggest rival from the market and instantly expanded its user base, cementing Grab’s dominance in ride-hailing while accelerating adoption of its other services.
Backed by Heavyweight Investors
Grab’s growth was supported by a strong investor base. SoftBank, Didi Chuxing, and Toyota were among the early backers, contributing to funding rounds that pushed Grab’s valuation to US $6 billion by 2018.
These resources allowed the company to scale operations quickly, expand into new service categories, and strengthen its technology infrastructure to support an increasingly complex app ecosystem.
A Record-Breaking Public Listing
In December 2021, Grab became the world’s largest company to go public via a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC). The merger with Altimeter Growth Corp valued Grab at US $39.6 billion and generated US $4.5 billion in cash proceeds. It was the largest-ever U.S. equity offering by a Southeast Asian company and a milestone moment for the region’s tech sector.
Expanding the Ecosystem
Post-listing, Grab continued to broaden its reach. In 2022, it launched GrabMaps, an in-house mapping solution designed to improve delivery accuracy and reduce reliance on third-party providers. That same year, it debuted GXS Bank in Singapore, one of the country’s first fully digital banks, in partnership with Singtel.
In 2024, Grab acquired Chope, a restaurant reservation platform, adding another layer to its lifestyle services portfolio and deepening customer engagement within the app.
A Philosophy Beyond Profit
Under CEO Anthony Tan, Grab has consistently framed its mission as a balance of profitability and social impact. The company supports driver welfare, promotes small business growth, and aims to bring more unbanked individuals into the financial system. More recently, it has committed to sustainability targets, signaling a “triple bottom line” approach that values economic, social, and environmental outcomes.
Where Grab Stands Today
As of 2025, Grab operates in over 500 cities across eight countries, serving millions of consumers and small businesses. It remains Southeast Asia’s first decacorn and the region’s leading super-app. Its success rests on the ability to integrate daily services into a single platform while adapting each offering to local market realities — a formula that continues to keep it ahead in one of the most competitive digital economies in the world.
