Grab is in ‘prime position’ to support the transition to driverless cars, says CEO Anthony Tan
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The ride-hailing firm launched a driverless bus in early July that ferries employees from its headquarters to a nearby metro station 4 kilometers away.
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investment
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July 31, 2025
09:12 AM
Fortune
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·Southeast Asia 500Grab is in ‘prime position’ to support the transition to driverless cars, says CEO Anthony TanBy Lionel LimBy Lionel LimAsia ReporterLionel LimAsia ReporterLionel Lim is a Singapore-based reporter covering the Asia-Pacific region.SEE FULL BIO Yee Wee Tang, Group Managing Director of Operations at Grab (left), Philip Ang, GrabTaxi driver-partner (center), and Ryan (Ho Jin) Kim, Managing Director, and International for A2Z at the launch of Grab's AV shuttle in Singapore on July 8, 2025.Courtesy of GrabAutonomous vehicles are now a common sight, with robotaxis plying the streets of San Francisco, Los Angeles, Wuhan and Shenzhen
Economies Japan, Hong Kong and the United Arab Emirates are also exploring their own autonomous taxi services
Singapore is no different
The government has been looking to launch driverless buses on its main island
WeRide already has a driverless bus plying a short route on Sentosa island, and the ride-hailing firm Grab recently launched a driverless shuttle service between the One-North metro station and its headquarters four kilometers away
The Grab-operated shuttle, which ferries employees back-and-forth between 2:00pm and 4:00pm each day, is just a pilot, yet CEO Anthony Tan sung the praises of AVs in an earnings call on Thursday. “We are leaning heavily into the AV opportunity, or what we think of as driverless AV opportunity across Southeast Asia
We are in prime position to support the AV transition over the next few years,” Tan said in response to a question on an earnings call how quickly Grab anticipates a commercial launch of its driverless offerings
Grab’s CEO elaborated that the company will continue to build strong relationships with global AV players and OEMs, and touted the platform’s regional reach
Grab is present in eight countries across Southeast Asia. “We have several pilots planned at the moment,” Tan said, including one with A2Z, a Korean AV manufacturer
He said to “expect to hear [] more pilots,” which will allow Grab to understand the operational conditions for different driverless vehicle services throughout the region
While there are concerns that driverless taxis will eliminate jobs, some Southeast Asian transport operators say they struggle to find drivers to meet demand throughout the day
AVs could fill these supply shortages when there are fewer drivers on the road
Grab’s earnings Grab reported a fit of $20 million for the quarter ending June 2025, reversing a loss of $68 million for the same period last year
Revenue grew by 23% year-on-year to reach $819 million, driven by gains in Grab’s on-demand and financial services segment
The company’s financial services segment, while starting from a lower base, was its fastest-growing division
Revenue in that segment grew 41% year-on-year to reach $84 million, while its loan portfolio grew by 78% to hit $708 million
Grab chief operating officer Alex Hungate was confident that Grab’s loan book could exceed $1 billion by the end of the year, citing its strong duct lineup
Loans can be a significant revenue driver for companies Grab, as non-traditional lenders can charge higher interest rates to cover the increased risk of lending to underbanked customers
Grab s, which are traded in New York, are up 0.6% in pre-market trading
The company’s s are currently up 11.6% for the year thus far.
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