Grab Brings In $2.5 Billion

Singapore-based ride hailing platform Grab announced the close of $2.5 billion in financing. Three investors participated in the round: Didi Kuaidi, SoftBank Group, and Toyota Motor Corp.

Grab began as a taxi-hailing app in 2012, but it has extended its product platform to include private car services (GrabCar and GrabShare), motorcycle taxis (GrabBike), social carpooling (GrabHitch), last mile delivery (GrabExpress) and a mobile payments services (GrabPay).

The company uses data and technology with the goal of improving everything from transportation to payments, across a region of more than 620 million people. Grab currently offers services in Singapore, Indonesia, Philippines, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam, and Myanmar, and the company has research and development offices in Singapore, Seattle, Beijing, Bangalore, Jakarta, and Vietnam.