Leading Southeast Asian ride-hailing provider Grab raised about $1.5 billion from SoftBank Group Corp.'s Vision Fund, bankrolling its effort to expand into new services across the region.
The funding brings the amount of money the company has collected from investors in the past year to about $4.5 billion, it said. SoftBank is already a major backer of the Singapore-based startup, and the latest investment will boost its stake.
Grab founder Anthony Tan is battling Go-Jek for leadership in the Southeast Asian market after vanquishing Uber Technologies Inc. in the region last year. He plans to spend a significant portion of the latest proceeds in Indonesia, the home turf of Grab's rival.