http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/business/singapore/grabtaxi-gets-8-figure/1063476.html
SINGAPORE: Vertex Venture Holdings, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Temasek Holdings, is leading a group of angel investors in Malaysia to inject additional funding into start-up GrabTaxi.
Vertex Venture says "an eight-figure US dollar sum" is being invested, without giving exact figures.
The stakeholders have declined to reveal the exact funding amount as it deems it a competitive information.
GrabTaxi runs a third-party mobile booking app by the same name.
It now covers 12 cities in five countries, including Singapore, Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam.
GrabTaxi says the additional funding will enable it to expand into new markets in the region.
The start-up plans to channel the funds into hiring engineers and coders, deepening its presence in existing markets and customising new features for different cities.
GrabTaxi says that since its launch in Malaysia two years ago, the app has been downloaded onto over one million mobile devices.
It now has more than 20,000 taxi drivers registered on its network regionally.
In Singapore, GrabTaxi says it has the second largest fleet, second to incumbent ComfortDelGro.
It adds that over 250,000 people in the region use the app at least once a month.
The business has caught the eye of venture capital firm Vertex Venture Holdings, which is looking for what's known as disruptive innovations.
This refers to improvements to products and services that displace existing market or technology.
Vertex Venture highlighted some key challenges for Singapore start-ups
Its president and CEO, Chua Kee Lock, said: "We are seeing more people asking us to consider investment. The challenge for us is that we have a relatively high bar.
"We want to look for something truly disruptive, no point investing in something that is incremental.
"For our start-ups, the immediate challenge for them is beyond the home market. They have to think of Southeast Asia, Malaysia, Indonesia...it means more money, more human resource and a lot more execution."
Vertex Venture has invested in over 400 companies around the world since its inception in 1988.
- CNA/ir
SINGAPORE: Vertex Venture Holdings, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Temasek Holdings, is leading a group of angel investors in Malaysia to inject additional funding into start-up GrabTaxi.
Vertex Venture says "an eight-figure US dollar sum" is being invested, without giving exact figures.
The stakeholders have declined to reveal the exact funding amount as it deems it a competitive information.
GrabTaxi runs a third-party mobile booking app by the same name.
It now covers 12 cities in five countries, including Singapore, Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam.
GrabTaxi says the additional funding will enable it to expand into new markets in the region.
The start-up plans to channel the funds into hiring engineers and coders, deepening its presence in existing markets and customising new features for different cities.
GrabTaxi says that since its launch in Malaysia two years ago, the app has been downloaded onto over one million mobile devices.
It now has more than 20,000 taxi drivers registered on its network regionally.
In Singapore, GrabTaxi says it has the second largest fleet, second to incumbent ComfortDelGro.
It adds that over 250,000 people in the region use the app at least once a month.
The business has caught the eye of venture capital firm Vertex Venture Holdings, which is looking for what's known as disruptive innovations.
This refers to improvements to products and services that displace existing market or technology.
Vertex Venture highlighted some key challenges for Singapore start-ups
Its president and CEO, Chua Kee Lock, said: "We are seeing more people asking us to consider investment. The challenge for us is that we have a relatively high bar.
"We want to look for something truly disruptive, no point investing in something that is incremental.
"For our start-ups, the immediate challenge for them is beyond the home market. They have to think of Southeast Asia, Malaysia, Indonesia...it means more money, more human resource and a lot more execution."
Vertex Venture has invested in over 400 companies around the world since its inception in 1988.
- CNA/ir
