SA国际传媒

Morning Report: Car manufacturer Toyota plans to invest $1 billion in Singapore-based ridesharing company Grab.

Global car manufacturer, Toyota, will in Southeast Asia鈥檚 ridesharing heavyweight , . The capital infusion will bring Grab鈥檚 total known funds raised to , inclusive of a round in October 2017 recorded by SA国际传媒. The round will bring Grab鈥檚 valuation up to $10 billion.

Grab, Southeast Asia鈥檚 poster child for big deals in the region, that it acquired Uber鈥檚 Southeast Asian operations back in March, effectively making it the main ridesharing powerhouse in the region. The company that it launched an investment arm called Grab Ventures to contribute to the growth of Southeast Asia鈥檚 promising, yet underfunded early-stage startup scene. Grab has acquired two startups: Indonesia-based and India-based , according to SA国际传媒.

This is not the first time Toyota has invested in Grab. The car company鈥檚 trading arm Toyota Tshusho participated in Grab鈥檚聽led by Japan鈥檚 and China鈥檚 in July 2017. That strategic investment was the beginning of Toyota Motors partnership with Grab. The companies worked to optimize and improve the performance of Toyota vehicles operating on Grab鈥檚 platform, according to .

Much like its China-based corporate backer (and ridesharing counterpart), Didi Chuxing, Grab will use its latest $1 billion investment from Toyota to expand into other verticals like food delivery and payments. It will also allow the company to deploy services like user-based insurance, according to CNBC鈥檚 report. In any case, the round represents yet another giant raise for the sharing economy, which has been on the receiving end of huge rounds in other industries ranging from scooters to bikes.

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