GrabX: How AI is set to redefine the Southeast Asian superapp landscape
Held under the theme "For Every You," the event highlighted Grab’s commitment to serving the diverse needs of its user base — from families and solo individuals to adventurous travelers — guided by its core philosophy of "AI-First with Heart."
SINGAPORE – Southeast Asia’s leading superapp, Grab marked a major milestone in its evolution with the unveiling of a suite of AI-powered features at its inaugural GrabX product showcase.
Held under the theme "For Every You," the event highlighted Grab’s commitment to serving the diverse needs of its user base — from families and solo individuals to adventurous travelers — guided by its core philosophy of "AI-First with Heart."
Spearheaded by Group Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and Co-Founder Anthony Tan, the event showcased a range of innovations aimed at enhancing safety, convenience and value through artificial intelligence (AI), while staying true to Grab’s mission of uplifting Southeast Asian communities.
EMBRACING DISRUPTION WITH AI
In his opening address, Tan articulated Grab's proactive stance on technological disruption, explaining their philosophy that it's necessary to either disrupt or be disrupted, a principle they actively embraced through their company-wide G/AI Sprint, a nine-week initiative immersing every "Grabber" in the world of Generative AI.
"You either disrupt, or you get disrupted. So we chose to disrupt ourselves," he said.
This intense focus on innovation led directly to the development of several key features, including the AI Merchant Assistant.
Tan described the “AI-First with Heart” philosophy as central to Grab’s future direction.
"Instead of just asking how do we scale ten times with the same resources?', we start with a different question...what are the problems that our communities face that we can solve X times better with AI?," he said.
A compelling example of this approach was "Mai", the AI Merchant Assistant, introduced via a video featuring its interaction with a struggling business owner.
The tool was designed to provide merchants with proactive, empathetic and actionable insights.
"It’s like giving every merchant a Chief Operating officer (COO), Chief Financial Officer (CFO), Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) — even a life coach — available on demand, 24/7," said Tan.
Embedded in the GrabMerchant app, Mai offered personalised recommendations based on business performance, such as suggesting promotions or updating menus.
AI-POWERED SAFETY AT THE CORE
Since its inception 13 years ago, Grab has prioritised safety — particularly for women and children.
At GrabX, that commitment was reaffirmed and elevated through new AI features.
Tan played an audio clip simulating a distress call during a ride to demonstrate real-time audio and sentiment analysis capabilities.
"With the advancements in AI, the answer is a resounding yes.
"Large language models can now analyse audio and sentiment in real-time," he added.
This technology was being integrated into new safety features like AudioProtect, which would be "always-on" for upcoming Grab for Family-Teens accounts, enabling real-time detection of dangerous situations.
GRAB FOR TEENS: SAFE AND SMART TRAVEL FOR YOUTHS
Launching in May across various markets, Grab for Family and Teens was tailored for parents who wanted a secure, independent ride option for their teenagers, aged 13–17.
Key features included:
- Prioritised matching with top-rated drivers
- Ride PIN verification, where teens must enter a driver-provided PIN to start the ride
- Real-time trip monitoring by parents
Grab’s technology would also detect anomalies such as route deviations, unscheduled stops or trip cancellations.
According to The Straits Times, an enhanced version of AudioProtect — powered by Generative AI — would detect aggressive sounds, arguments or inappropriate language.
This feature is expected to roll out in Singapore by late 2025, enabling immediate intervention from Grab’s safety team.
SMARTER DELIVERIES FOR EVERY OCCASION
Catering to group orders, Grab enhanced its large order experience by leveraging a custom Large Language Model (LLM).
The model analysed the weight and size of food orders from a catalog of 175 million items.
If an order was too bulky for one delivery partner, the system would automatically assign it to a four-wheeler.
If one wasn’t available, the order would be split between two motorbike riders — dispatched to ensure timely arrival of both parts.
For solo diners, Grab introduced GrabFood for One, offering affordable single-item meals with no minimum spend and a fixed low delivery fee. Complementing this was Shared Saver, now piloting in Singapore.
This feature enabled users to participate in "live" group orders from nearby individuals ordering from the same restaurant, thereby lowering delivery costs, with the company detailing that their AI identifies nearby multiple orders for the same merchant and can initiate a Shared Saver order.
TRAVEL-FRIENDLY INNOVATIONS
To support travellers, Grab unveiled Advance Booking (Airport Pickup) — a feature that dynamically adjusted driver schedules based on real-time flight data, ensuring drivers were ready upon arrival.
Another launch was Dine Out Discovery (Powered by GrabMaps), combining Grab’s food and mapping expertise.
It enable users to explore nearby restaurants, access deals and make reservations.
"Dine Out Discovery brings the best of these worlds together to give you an easy, intuitive way to discover dining options and deals around you," Grab Chief Product Officer Philipp Kandal said.
The feature would be available in all markets by May, with reservations first launching in Indonesia, Singapore and Thailand.
Also available was the Grab Travel Pass, offering pre-paid vouchers for rides, food delivery and dining — streamlining travel across Southeast Asia.
STRENGTHENING AI PARTNERSHIPS
Grab’s AI push was further backed by strategic partnerships with leading tech firms.
Tan announced expanded collaborations with OpenAI and Anthropic, aimed at fine-tuning AI models using Grab’s regional data and expertise.
"By working with two of the world’s leading AI research organisations, we’ll push the boundaries of their models and fine-tune them with our unique insights," he said.
The collaboration included research into agentic AI, to better equip driver and merchant partners with smarter planning tools.
LOOKING FORWARD
Tan reiterated Grab’s enduring mission, emphasising that the core essence of Grab – its fundamental purpose – would always remain constant, centred on driving innovation and even invention rooted in solving real societal problems uncovered through immersion in ground truths.
"The core essence of Grab — what Grab is really about — will always stay the same. We’re about driving innovation, even invention, rooted in solving real, societal problems. Problems we uncover by immersing ourselves in ground truths," he said.
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