Ride-hailing startup Grab to invest $2 billion in Indonesia with funds from SoftBank

Back in March, we wrote about Grab when the Southeast Asian ride-hailing startup raised $1.46 billion investment from SoftBank’s Vision Fund. Today, Grab announced it will invest $2 billion into Indonesia over the next five years, using funds Japan’s SoftBank Group to boost its presence in Southeast Asia’s biggest economy. The Singapore-based Grab will make the $2 billion investment into Indonesia using the roughly $3 billion capital it has raised in total from SoftBank.

The investment will be aimed at accelerating the development of Indonesia’s digital infrastructure, which includes building a next-generation transportation network around electric vehicles in local cities and improving the way important services, such as health care, are delivered in the country.  Grab also said it will build a second headquarters in Jakarta, Indonesia.

“Indonesia’s technology sector has huge potential,” Masayoshi Son, chairman and CEO of SoftBank, said in a statement. “I’m very happy to be investing US$2 billion into the future of Indonesia through Grab.”

Founded in 2012 by Anthony Tan and Tan Hooi Ling, the Singapore-based Grab is a ride-hailing platform that offers booking service for taxis, private cars, and motorbikes through one mobile. Grab offers a wide range of services through one mobile app and has been driving Southeast Asia forward since 2012. Grab is making transport freedom a reality in eight countries across the region. From simple taxi services to now private car services (GrabCar), motorcycle taxis (GrabBike), last mile delivery (GrabExpress), ride sharing (GrabShare), and food delivery (GrabFood), Grab  offers services in Singapore, Indonesia, the Philippines, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam, Myanmar and Cambodia.