Build story · Singapore · 2012–2023
Grab: beating Uber in Southeast Asia
Grab started as a taxi-booking app in Malaysia, adapted to local needs such as cash payments and motorbike taxis, bought Uber's Southeast Asian business in 2018, and became a super-app.
By Shivam Bhandari · Reviewed 31 October 2026 · How we write
by the numbers
- Launch
- 2012, Malaysia
- Uber's stake from the 2018 deal
- about 27.5%
- Valuation at listing (2021)
- about $40 billion
What happened
Anthony Tan and Tan Hooi Ling developed the idea at Harvard Business School and launched MyTeksi in Malaysia in 2012 to make taxis safer and more reliable. It expanded across Southeast Asia as GrabTaxi, then Grab.
Unlike Uber's global playbook, Grab adapted to each market: it accepted cash, added motorbike taxis, worked with existing taxi drivers, and hired local teams. After a costly subsidy war, Uber sold its Southeast Asian business to Grab in March 2018 in exchange for a stake of about 27.5% in Grab.
Grab expanded into food delivery, payments, and financial services. It went public on Nasdaq through a SPAC in 2021 at a valuation of about $40 billion, and in 2023 reported positive adjusted EBITDA for a full year.
Timeline
- 2012
MyTeksi launches.
- 2016
GrabPay launches.
- 2018
Acquires Uber's Southeast Asia business.
- 2021
Nasdaq listing.
what made it work
- Local adaptation — cash, motorbikes, local teams.
- Expanded from rides into everyday services.
- Outlasted a global rival in a subsidy war.
the lesson
A local player that adapts deeply to how customers actually live can beat a global giant using one playbook.
Apply it to your business
- 1Design for local payment and transport habits.
- 2Expand into adjacent daily services.
- 3Hire leaders who understand each market.
Laws at work in this story
Figures are rounded and drawn from public reports, company filings and widely cited coverage at the time. Check the company's latest filings before relying on any number.