Getting a taxi in a crowded city used to be difficult, downright impossible at times.

Traffic jams, rush hours, shady taxi drivers are all things that get in the way between the passenger and his/her destination.

That’s where two colleagues from the Harvard Business School, Anthony, and Tan, stepped up and found a solution to the pesky issue.

Grab started out as a taxi service, but eventually evolved into a tech company.

How, you may ask?

By simply feeling the pulse of the market and its demands, and making the most out of a challenge. When Anthony and Tan noticed the market making demands - they delivered!

The services Grab provides range from transportation to food delivery to e-commerce to online payment and even financial advice and services.

This is the story of two Harvard business scholars, Anthony and Tan, that made the most out of the pandemic and revolutionized the taxi business.

The Colleagues

Anthony Tan was born into a wealthy family, his father being the owner of a successful auto business. Unlike many others, Anthony did not endure the standard pressure to succeed, so he could have easily relied on his family’s fortune and not lifted a finger. But, Anthony decided to make a name for himself!

The University of Chicago was Anthony's first stop on his educational journey. After graduating from high school in 2000, Anthony began studying economics and public policy. Both of his bachelor's degrees were completed in 2004. Anthony applied to Harvard Business School in 2009 after taking a few years off from school. As of 2011, Anthony has completed his MBA in Administration and Management. And that’s where he met Tan.

Tan Hooi Ling was born and raised in a middle-class Malaysian family. She attended the University of Bath in England and got herself a Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering. Later on, Tan became a Master of Business Administration at the Harvard Business School, where she met with her colleague and future business partner - Anthony.

As colleagues, Anthony and Tan worked together on a business plan, a mobile app that connects taxi seekers and taxi drivers in the chaotic Malaysian traffic. What both of them had in mind while working on the project, was the safety issues that female passengers face in Malaysia.

The project was excellent, and it was a runner-up in the HBS New Venture Competition in 2011. The duo got an award of $25.000, which they combined with some of their own personal funds and created the mobile application MyTeksi in 2012.

Since Tan had a contract with an organization paying for her scholarship, she returned to complete her contract. Meanwhile, Tan helped Anthony with MyTeksi in Southeast Asia while working at San Francisco-based tech giant, Salesforce. After a brief hiatus, Tan rejoined Grab full-time. Re-assuming the role of COO, she concentrated on three major areas: product, HR, and CX.

The Great Leap Forward

After its successful launch in 2012, MyTeksi expanded to the Philippines, Singapore, and Thailand under the new name - GrabTaxi.

And that’s when the company started its rapid development.

Grab partnered with Chinese HDT Holdings in 2013, and introduced 100 BYD e6 electric taxis in Singapore. It was a partnership that made GrabTaxi the biggest e-taxi fleet in South East Asia. One year later, the company further expanded in Vietnam and Indonesia.

In May of 2014, Grab announced GrabCar, an alternative form of transportation that uses personal cars in an effort to meet the demand for transportation during peak traffic hours. That same month, the company made an announcement that it secured $15 million from a Series B funding round.

GrabTaxi failed to get a financial grant from the Malaysian government, and instead, it got one worth $10 million from the Singapore government investment fund. The company moved its headquarters from Malaysia to Singapore in 2014, and Anthony was granted citizenship for Singapore shortly after.

In the last three months of 2014, Grab managed to raise $65 million from a Series C funding round. The funds secured the launch of GrabBike while landing another $10 million in a Series A venture funding by Vertex Ventures Southeast Asia & India. In December, the largest investment in a Southeast Asian internet company on public record was made - a whopping $250 million from a Series D funding obtained by Grab.

In 2015, GrabBike spread throughout Vietnam and Indonesia and started providing medical insurance for the passengers and its drivers. GrabCar+ was launched in February, offering a fleet of higher-end cars in the Philippines and Singapore. And after securing another $350 million from a Series E funding round, the company launched GrabExpress courier service.

Rebranding Leading to Expansion

Anthony and Tan felt that their company needed a new, fresh brand. So, in January of 2015, they rebranded GrabTaxi as GrabCar (GrabBike, GrabHitch, GrabExpress) with a new redesigned logo. In September that same year, $750 million in funds were secured from a Series F funding round, and GrabChat was released. GrabChat is an instant messaging feature that allows simple communication between drivers and passengers.

In February 2017, Grab released a feature that enabled booking large passenger vehicles named GrabCoach. Next came GrabFamily, a feature for children below 7 years old, that requires drivers to put a child restraint in their vehicle in order to apply for the feature.

Have you ever heard of Toyota?

Yes, the famous Japanese automobile giant held a part in a $2.5 billion worth, Series G funding round. This infusion of cash was Grab’s opportunity to expand its business, which they did.

In 2017, Grab confirmed the acquisition of the online payment startup Kudo and integrated it into its payment system. Shortly after, Grab announced GrabPay, as they expanded into fintech services.

The Acquisition of Uber’s SEA Operations

Anthony and Tan took over Uber’s assets and operations (including UberEats) in Southeast Asia as part of an acquisition in March 2018. Uber holds 28% stakes in Grab as a result. GrabWheels scooter rental and GrabFood delivery services were introduced in May of the same year.

In the fall of 2018, Grab raised another $200 million, this time from world-famous Booking Holdings. Anthony and Tan used these funds to release GrabExpress courier service, the GrabClub subscription program, and they announced yet another funding round, Series H. Grab expected the total amount of funding to reach $6.5 billion. That is a lot of pennies, folks.

Grab made an announcement to build their new headquarters in Singapore’s One-north business quarter, which they opened in the 4th quarter of 2020. The facility is worth $135 million and employs 3000 people.

UberEats was transformed into GrabKitchen, and 50 Grab kitchens were set up in 6 Southeast Asian countries within a year.

Grab announced their 2nd headquarters in Jakarta, Indonesia, in 2019. Meanwhile, Grab had partnered up with Splyt - a business that provides similar taxi services in Japan and the Middle East. And in December of that same year, the company co-branded with Mastercard, and together they issued a numberless payment card - a first of its kind in Southeast Asia.

Thriving in Uncertain Times

2020 made the world stop spinning, but it certainly did not stop Grab from expanding. In February, Grab secured $856 million from Mitsubishi UFH Financial Group and another $150 million from TIS INCET from Japan.

However, things weren’t made easy for Anthony and Tan to make it in the big league. Companies like Lyft, Gett, and Gojek were Grab’s main competitors.

Due to increased demands for grocery deliveries and online food demands, Anthony and Tan released GrabMart and GrabAssistant in several countries. After the successful release, Grab built its first Tech Center in Jakarta for micro, small, and medium enterprises.

To wrap 2020 up, Grab was granted a digital banking license from the government of Singapore, together with its partner, Singtel. Shortly after, at the beginning of 2021, Indonesia’s Emtek Group invested $375 million in Grab’s Indonesian businesses to help with the acceleration of digital adoption of small and medium businesses.

In April 2021, Grab announced it would merge with Altimeter Growth Corp. as part of a $39.6 billion SPAC IPO. It was claimed to be the biggest merging of blank checks at the time.

The Future Is up for Grabs!

The secret of Anthony and Tan’s success is their part in Social Impact Programs and their vision for social reforms.

Grab spread out $40 million to initiatives across Southeast Asia to support their driver and merchant partners. Anthony and Tan also released GrabCare, a taxi service for health care workers that were discriminated against due to their fight against the COVID-19 pandemic.

Grab has partnered up with Microsoft to help Southeast Asian people get access to digital literacy programs and digital certificates.

Anthony holds the position of the company’s CEO, while Tan acts as the company’s Chief Operations Officer.

When it comes to Grab’s future endeavors, the company is planning to use its “Tech For Good” initiative together with Microsoft, to help Asian people bridge the skills gap. There is also the “Break The Silence” initiative that is meant to create more opportunities for the deaf and hearing-impaired citizens of Southeast Asia. The story behind Grab is a result of the brainstorming of two beautiful minds, the ones of Anthony and Tan. Perseverance and vision brought the two colleagues unimaginable success, expanding their Grab realm across the world.

For Antony and Tan, success was up for grabs!