Microsoft has announced its intent to invest in Grab, a ride-hailing company similar to Uber that is primarily located in southeast Asia. This investment is part of a recently created partnership between Microsoft and Grab, created with the intent to collaborate on technological projects such as artificial intelligence and data management.
Neither Microsoft nor Grab has disclosed exactly how much the former has invested into the latter. However, Grab had announced earlier in the year that it plans to raise at least $3 billion by the end of December, $2 billion of which has already been reached.
While Grab is primarily a ride-hailing business based out of Singapore, it also seeks to become a leading consumer technology group, and is exploring projects in the realms of food and parcel delivery, money transfers, and mobile payments. Grab hopes that, with Microsoft’s help, it can also explore mobile-centric technologies such as face and image recognition, primarily to improve the quality of their ride-hailing service.
