Uber rival Grab to raise massive round
March 27, 2017
Grab, the Singapore-based ride-hailing company that’s a main competitor to Uber in Southeast Asia, is in the process of raising more than $1.5 billion in a round led by Japanese tech conglomerate SoftBank (TKO: 9984), according to a Bloomberg report. The company previously secured a $750 million investment in September, valuing it at about $3 billion and bringing Grab's total raised to more than $1.4 billion.
News of the funding comes about a month after Ola, a ride-hailing startup based in India, raised $330 million in another round that included funding from SoftBank. With that financing, Ola’s valuation dropped to an estimated $3.5 billion from a peak of about $5 billion, a dip likely fueled in part by Uber stepping up investment in its own Indian business.
As for SoftBank, the news comes hot on the heels of last week's $300 million investment in office co-working company WeWork. While those funds and this Grab investment will likely come from SoftBank itself, future investments may be disbursed via its new $100 billion Vision Fund.
News of the funding comes about a month after Ola, a ride-hailing startup based in India, raised $330 million in another round that included funding from SoftBank. With that financing, Ola’s valuation dropped to an estimated $3.5 billion from a peak of about $5 billion, a dip likely fueled in part by Uber stepping up investment in its own Indian business.
As for SoftBank, the news comes hot on the heels of last week's $300 million investment in office co-working company WeWork. While those funds and this Grab investment will likely come from SoftBank itself, future investments may be disbursed via its new $100 billion Vision Fund.
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