Exclusive | How Grab’s CEO steered it from a garage in Malaysia to Southeast Asia’s most valuable tech unicorn
How Anthony Tan has taken a taxi-hailing app to keep drivers and riders more safe into an everyday app to book cars, bicycles and even food delivery services
Anthony Tan knew it was not going to be your usual business meeting when the taxi fleet boss he had arranged to meet in the Philippines entered the restaurant surrounded by burly bodyguards.
“I remember thinking, Manila is hot, why is everyone wearing a jacket and sunglasses at night? What is going on?” said Tan, co-founder and chief executive officer of Singapore-based Grab, Southeast Asia’s most valuable tech start-up.
Tan was there to sign up the taxi-fleet owner to his ride-booking app. Midway through the negotiations, there was a loud thud. He peered under their table and saw what looked like a machine gun on the floor.
“I was like, holy cow, I guess this negotiation is going in your favour!” It was only later that Tan realised he had just sat across the table from one of the area’s biggest arms dealers.
Tan laughed as he recounted the early days of Grab to the South China Morning Post at its swanky new headquarters at Marina One West in Singapore’s downtown business district. Occupying two floors with expansive views of the busy Tanjong Pagar port, both Grab’s new digs and Tan’s anecdote underscore how far the start-up he founded with fellow Harvard MBA classmate Tan Hooi Ling [no relation] has come from its beginnings in a cramped garage in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Since its inception almost six years ago Grab has fought off no-holds barred competitors such as US-based Uber to lead the region’s ride-hailing market. Grab has morphed into Southeast Asia’s most valuable tech start-up with a valuation of over US$10 billion, giving Tan a personal fortune of around US$300 million, according to a Forbes estimate made before the latest fundraising round.
