Grab to lean on scale, AI to navigate rising fuel costs, CEO says

By Gibran Naiyyar Peshimam and Stefanno Sulaiman

JAKARTA, April 8 (Reuters) - Southeast Asia's apical ride-hailing and transportation steadfast Grab believes artificial intelligence-led products and services volition assistance it thrust ‌growth and navigate challenges specified arsenic affordability and rising substance costs successful the aftermath of ‌the warfare successful Iran, institution CEO Anthony Tan told Reuters.

The Singapore-based institution earlier this twelvemonth expanded extracurricular Southeast Asia for ​the archetypal clip erstwhile it purchased Delivery Hero's Foodpanda transportation concern successful Taiwan.

But it forecast fiscal 2026 gross beneath Wall Street expectations, signaling slower momentum successful its halfway businesses of thrust hailing and deliveries arsenic consumers were grappling with economical uncertainty adjacent earlier the Iran war.

"Call america possibly bold, but we conscionable ‌have a batch of content successful ⁠our AI-led merchandise strategy and it's paying off. We've seen it successful our results and we proceed to spot it grow," Tan said successful an interrogation ⁠with Reuters aft a institution lawsuit successful Jakarta to motorboat caller products.

"The world is that the substance outgo concern is existent for everyone. How bash companies similar america construe that into a mode of however to ​be adjacent ​more conscious of our customers' wallets?" helium added.

Even arsenic Grab announced ​in February its first-ever full-year nett profit, ‌14 years aft it was founded, the Nasdaq-listed company's forecasts for 2026 gross and adjusted EBITDA fell abbreviated of Wall Street estimates. Its stock terms has slumped astir 30% truthful acold this year.

Tan said the company's scale, with an LSEG-estimated marketplace worth of $14.5 billion, was a cardinal differentiator allowing it to nutrient "tremendous data" that would assistance growth.

"As we marque things much affordable, much radical are ordering. That's the champion mode to thrust growth, ‌where you tin find and physique AI-led maturation that nary ​one other has shown and built before."

Among the 13 products that ​Grab unveiled connected Wednesday was a "group ride" ​feature that it said tin prevention up to 40% connected lawsuit fares by ‌using AI to automatically cipher a much precise ​split of fares betwixt ​groups of travelers.

Grab did not supply the dollar worth of the company's concern successful the 13 AI products.

The merchandise volition person a wider roll-out soon successful Indonesia, the region's biggest system ​and the largest of the ‌eight markets Grab operates in.

"We are precise blessed to beryllium successful Indonesia and I tin ​tell you, we're conscionable going to support doubling down." Tan said.

(Reporting by Gibran Naiyyar ​Peshimam and Stefanno Sulaiman; Editing by Kim Coghill)