Grab President Ming Maa (left), with Peggy Johnson, Executive Vice President of Business Development, Microsoft Microsoft/Grab

Microsoft has made a strategic investment into SE Asian on-demand leader Grab and has inked a 5 year agreement between both sides which will see collaboration on range on projects including big data, artificial intelligence and mobility solutions.

This partnership will see Grab now adopt Microsoft Azure as its preferred cloud platform for a tap into Microsoft’s intelligent cloud and AI capabilities for scaling of its own service and increase of its capacity.

As part of this collaboration, Grab will work with Microsoft on development of features aimed at enhancing the on-demand transportation, mobile payments and online-to-offline services experience which include:

Grab founders Tan Hooi Ling(left) and Anthony Tan Grab

• New authentication mechanisms such as mobile facial recognition with built-in AI for drivers and customers who opt in

• Utilization of Azure’s data analytics for fraud detection services

• Advancing of Grab’s “recommendation engine” through Microsoft’s machine learning and AI capabilities

• Exploration of image recognition and computer vision technologies aimed at improving the user and driver pickup experience.

• Improvement of map creation through Microsoft’s machine learning capabilities and

• Leverage of Microsoft’s natural language processing capabilities for provision of contextualized real-time translations and an AI chatbot for interactive experiences for Grab users.

Other areas of collaboration include in-car solutions, rewards integration, Microsoft Outlook and Microsoft Kaizala integration.

“Our partnership with Grab opens up new opportunities to innovate in both a rapidly evolving industry and growth region,” said Peggy Johnson, executive vice president at Microsoft. “We’re excited to team up to transform the customer experience as well as enhance the delivery of digital services for the millions of users who rely on Grab for safe and affordable transport, food and package delivery, mobile payments, and financial services.”

“This partnership signals a deep collaboration with Microsoft on an array of technology projects, including big data and artificial intelligence, that will transform the delivery of everyday services and mobility solutions in Southeast Asia,” Grab President Ming Maa also stated.

“As a global technology leader, Microsoft’s investment into Grab highlights our position as the leading homegrown technology player in the region. We look forward to collaborating with Microsoft in the pursuit of enhancing on-demand transportation and seamless online-to-offline experiences for users.”

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