GrabTaxi rebrands to Grab

GrabTaxi, Southeast Asia’s leading ride-hailing platform, rebrands to Grab today. The new Grab encompasses all the company’s services: taxis (GrabTaxi), private car services (GrabCar), motorcycle taxis (GrabBike), social carpooling (GrabHitch) and last mile delivery (GrabExpress), under one umbrella brand.

GrabTaxi is now Grab --Tan Hooi Ling - Co-Founder, Anthony Tan - Group CEO & Co-Founder and Cheryl Goh - VP of Marketing at the Grab Regional Launch in Singapore.

Since launching in 2012, Grab has evolved from a humble taxi-booking app to Southeast Asia’s largest land transport company, with over 200,000 drivers and over 11 million mobile downloads.

Since mid-2015, the company experienced 35 per cent average monthly growth in GrabCar rides and a 75 per cent average monthly growth in GrabBike rides across the region.

"We've grown over the years – and we're now much more than a taxi app. This new brand is an important evolution that represents our goal to outserve our customers. We are not only providing passengers with a transport service, we are saving them time and ensuring they have a safe ride,” said Anthony Tan, Group CEO and Co-Founder, Grab.

He added, “Grab aims to make transportation accessible to everyone in Southeast Asia. We have set the benchmark in the industry, with the most number of transport services that cater to all price points, all available in one app. We have something for everyone – and are committed to delivering the best possible user experience.”


The new brand represents our growing platform of on-demand services to serve the transport industry as a whole. It underscores our brand promises: To provide the freedom to get to your destination safely and conveniently; the freedom to choose the best transport option for you; the freedom to pursue a rewarding livelihood.

The new logo was designed with freedom at its core. The dual lines are inspired by roadways and they represent the endless road of possibilities. They symbolise the new journey Grab is taking in parallel with its passengers, drivers, employees and society at large.


Grab’s focus on the customer experience has been translated into new app features to make the updated Grab app more user-friendly. The app is designed to be lighter and provide even faster access to ride bookings.

“We are focused on designing the best possible product for our users. We take a hyperlocal approach to understand what users in each Southeast Asian city prefers, from language preferences to payment options,” said Tan Hooi Ling, Co-Founder, Grab. “The updated Grab app is about improving the core experience – we want to make it as simple as two clicks to book a ride.”

●     Enhancements to improve user experience

o      Personalised locations – faster two-click booking experience

Pick-up and drop-off points will be pre-filled based on your favourite places. Users’ preferred locations will be ranked by the day, time and users’ physical location. This enables most users to book a ride in just two clicks.

o      Automated retries – hands-free rebooking

The “auto-retry” feature minimises repeated booking attempts if a passenger does not get a vehicle within the first attempt, without having to manually go through the booking process again.

o      Live driver tracking – better estimation of pick-up times

Watch the Grab vehicle make its way to you, with real-time driver tracking on the map. Users can better estimate the arrival time of their driver, and when they should head to the pick-up location.

o      Simplified registration process – faster sign-ups for new users

Android users can sign up more quickly for Grab. The app will automatically confirm the user’s identity and mobile phone number, with most users not needing to key in anything – just click to confirm. This will be rolled out to iOS in the near future.

●     “Flash” – delivering the power of the Grab network

With the touch of just the one button, Flash searches all of the closest taxis and GrabCars to find the best vehicle for users across both services – meaning passengers will get where they need to go with less waiting.

Flash is available in Singapore, Philippines and Vietnam, and will be rolled out in Malaysia on 30 January and Thailand in February.

●     GrabPay – multiple credit card support
Go cashless and zip out of a taxi or GrabCar once arriving at the destination. GrabPay enables passengers to go cashless by using a credit card payment, making the entire commuting experience seamless. Users still retain the freedom to choose between cash or cashless option as and when they like. For peace of mind, users will receive fare confirmations via the app and an email receipt. Users will also be able to use multiple credit cards and easily toggle to choose which to use.

GrabPay is available in Singapore, Indonesia, Philippines and Malaysia, and multiple credit card support will be available in Singapore starting 28 January and Indonesia, Philippines and Malaysia in February. GrabPay will be rolled out in Thailand and Vietnam in the first half of 2016.

●     GrabWork – business-friendly features for working professionals
Expense business rides separately. Business professionals who use Grab for meetings will be thrilled to know that they can now tag their business rides on the go. Other new in-app features include the expense code and trip detail fields for tracking and expense claims purposes.

Passengers can login online to Grab Passenger Hub (hub.grab.co) to download their consolidated business or personal statements for  claims submission purposes. With multiple credit card support, users can add a corporate card and easily toggle between personal and corporate payment options.

GrabWork is available in Singapore, Indonesia, Philippines, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam starting 28 January. Companies who wish to register for a corporate account with Grab may do so at www.grab.co/business.

The Grab app is available for free in Google Play and Apple App Store for Android and iOS users respectively. Existing GrabTaxi and MyTeksi users will automatically have their apps updated from 28 January if auto update is enabled.


Grab is holding Grab Freedom Day in the capital cities of the six countries it operates in. During this event, over a hundred Grabbers including the management team across the region will spend a day as Grab drivers.

“In order for us to outserve our customers, we need to understand them and what better way than spending an entire day as a driver and for a good cause too,” said Cheryl Goh, VP of Marketing for Grab.

Passengers who book vehicles driven by Grabbers will ride for free, and the value of the ride will be donated to charities across the region.

Grab Freedom Day will be held in Philippines on 29 January, Singapore and Malaysia on 30 January, Vietnam on 2 February, and Indonesia and Thailand on 3 February.

GrabTaxi receives over US$350 million in additional funding

GrabTaxi Holdings Pte Ltd (“GrabTaxi”) announced it has raised its largest ever funding of over US$350 million (PHP 16.1 billion), from Coatue Management, L.L.C. (“Coatue”), a US investment firm that invests in technology worldwide, China’s sovereign wealth fund, China Investment Corporation (“CIC”), and Didi Kuaidi (“Didi”), along with support from existing shareholders.

This brings GrabTaxi’s total funding to approximately US$700 million and makes it one of the best funded startups in the history of Southeast Asia. GrabTaxi first launched in Manila, Philippines in July 2013, and quickly expanded into Cebu, Davao, Iloilo, Bacolod and Baguio.

Putting Southeast Asia on the map

Southeast Asia has continued to increase in prominence in the global startup ecosystem as more investors seek exposure to the fast growing mobile-first region. GrabTaxi has become the gold standard for the region and provides a benchmark in technology innovation and success.

Anthony Tan, Group CEO and Co-Founder of GrabTaxi said, “This investment is not only a statement on GrabTaxi’s dominance in the region, but also the growth potential of Southeast Asia on a global level. GrabTaxi is at the forefront of the startup industry in Southeast Asia and it is a mantle we carry proudly. As one of the leaders in the region we've been able to attract top global talent to our brand as well as secure investment from great partners like Coatue and CIC”.

On Didi Kuaidi’s investment, Tan added “Didi Kuaidi is the leading player in China with strong multi-product experience. We look forward to working with our peer in China, leveraging off each other’s experience to continually deliver the best service possible”.

Jean Liu, President of Didi Kuaidi said “A cooperative approach with the dominant player in Southeast Asia will enhance both our businesses. Anthony and the team have achieved incredible growth so far, and we look forward to helping continue that momentum”.

Where the funds will be used

GrabTaxi has successfully diversified its offering beyond taxis to include private cars and motorbikes. The funds will be used to rapidly grow these exciting new offerings to replicate the success of GrabTaxi’s taxi product line. GrabCar is a private hire vehicle service available in all countries where GrabTaxi is available. GrabExpress is an on-demand, same-day delivery service that is currently available in Manila. Both GrabCar and GrabExpress are available through the same GrabTaxi mobile app.

“We exist to solve the region’s transportation challenges. Diversifying into private cars and motorbikes has allowed us to touch people of varying income levels and commuting needs. We are the only app in the region that has such an extensive network and range of transportation choices”, says Tan.

The funds will be used to further develop GrabTaxi’s technology offering as it continues to invest in expanding its engineering offices that now span over Singapore, Malaysia, Vietnam and Beijing.

Launched in 2012, GrabTaxi has continued its aggressive growth throughout Southeast Asia with presence in 26 cities across 6 countries, including Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, The Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam. GrabTaxi continues its explosive growth with over 110,000 drivers under its banner across Southeast Asia.

GrabCar : Rides Made Awesome

Taxis offer the convenience of having a car without the hassle and expense of parking and gas, and you can book a taxi with the use of the app available for iOS and Android, it enables users to pledge a tip to the driver to pick them up right where they want, whenever they need a ride. With that in mind comes, GrabTaxi, consumers can now grab an affordable private car without the hassle of ownership and provides the same safety standard.

GrabTaxi, the largest Southeast Asian taxi-booking mobile app, is launching GrabCar on the existing mobile app. GrabCar is a brand new service that provides an authorized on-demand private driver for anyone without the hassle of owning a private car.

This new service provides a new option for passengers and also expands the benefits of GrabTaxi to a new network of drivers. Like GrabTaxi, GrabCar offers private car drivers the opportunity to build on their income by providing them with a much wider user-base and an efficient driver-to-passenger matching.

Anthony Tan said, “What has ensured GrabTaxi’s success in Philippines has been its ability to adapt and evolve to meet our user’s needs. That’s why we are introducing GrabCar; we see that there is an opportunity to fill a gap in the industry without taking away business from our core user-base of taxis. GrabCar will give our passengers that upmarket personalized experience while ensuring a fun and authentic ride.”

Brian Cu, Natasha Bautista and Anthony Tan

GrabCar will complement the public taxi industry by providing an affordable alternative supply to meet this demand. GrabCar will provide passengers the option to select a private car if they require one and a higher chance to make a successful booking during peak hours.

Anthony Tan added,” GrabCar not only gives consumers more options, it will also be positive for taxi drivers in the GrabTaxi network. This will increase the volume of cars available to passengers and build consumer confidence and loyalty in GrabTaxi, eventually leading to more people using the GrabTaxi platform and more rides for taxi drivers.”

The introduction of GrabTaxi into the Philippines has helped repair an inefficient system and develop a safer environment for both passengers and drivers. As a core component of the mobile app, GrabCar holds closely to the pillars of GrabTaxi, which are safety, convenience and speed.

To use GrabCar, users can select the GrabCar option which appears on your GrabTaxi app. This will help narrow down the search to GrabCar vehicles for an affordable chauffeured trip.


The free GrabTaxi app which incorporates the GrabCar function for smartphones and tablets is available from Google Play (Android), App Store (iOS), Windows Phone, and the BlackBerry World app store.

About GrabTaxi
GrabTaxi is a for-profit social start-up with a mission to revolutionize the taxi industry. GrabTaxi started in Kuala Lumpur and now has operations in Singapore, Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam. Runners-up in the 2011 Harvard Business School Business Plan Contest, its core product is a taxi-dispatch service with GPS-enhancements, allowing passengers to hail the nearest taxi with extreme ease. Since 2012, tens of thousands of taxi drivers have been using the GrabTaxi mobile application to receive bookings.  Passengers can book taxis on their smartphones and tablets with ease and enjoy a great user experience. As a humble start-up, GrabTaxi believes that business and social value can be achieved in parallel. It hopes to make a difference in Philippines’ public transportation by making it easier, safer and more efficient to book taxis.