Toyota Invests $1 Billion In Grab Ride-Hailing Firm

Toyota is investing $1 billion in Southeast Asia’s Grab ride-hailing company.

For those unfamiliar with Grab, the company is valued at over $10 billion and earlier this year, acquired Uber’s business in the region.

By investing in the company, Toyota will get a board seat and be able to place an executive within Grab’s leadership team, Tech Crunch reports.

“Going forward, together with Grab, we will develop services that are more attractive, safe and secure for our customers in Southeast Asia,” Toyota executive vice president Shigeki Tomoyama said.

Toyota isn’t the only company to recently invest in Grab. Recently, Hyundai threw its financial support behind the company. Additionally, SoftBank and China’s Didi Chuxing ride-hailing company jointly led a $2.5 billion investment last year.

Based in Singapore, Grab claims that over 100 million downloads have been made of its app across eight countries in Asia.

In a statement, Grab said it will work with Toyota “to create a more efficient transport network that will ease traffic congestion in Southeast Asia’s megacities.”

Despite acquiring Uber’s local business, Grab doesn’t have the Southeast Asian market all to itself. Indonesia’s Go-Jek, itself valued at $4.5 billion, plans to expand to four new markets in the near future.