Telecommunications and internet group SoftBank is set to invest $1bn in Singapore-based ride hailing service Grab as part of a $1.5bn funding round, Bloomberg reported on Friday, citing people familiar with the matter.
Launched in 2012 and originally known as GrabTaxi, Grab runs a diversified transport-on-demand platform that incorporates taxis, carpooling and motorcycles. The company has focused on Southeast Asia but last week expanded into its seventh country, Burma.
The proposed round would follow the pledge Grab made last month to commit $700m of investment to its largest market, Indonesia. It plans to spend $100m of that sum on an acquisition of online payment platform Kudo.
Grab has raised about $1.4bn in total, with SoftBank having been an investor since 2014 when it provided $250m at a reported $625m valuation, following funding from online travel agency Qunar, Vertex Venture Holdings, GGV Capital and Hillhouse Capital Management.
SoftBank joined China-based ride sharing platform Didi Chuxing, China Investment Corporation, Coatue Management and Tiger Global Management to invest $350m in series E funding in 2015.
The corporate subsequently led a $750m round in September 2016 that valued Grab at $3bn post-money, before automotive manufacturer Honda and financial services firm Tokyo Century invested undisclosed amounts in December.
Although SoftBank is shortly set to close its $100bn Vision Fund and has already begun making investments out of it, the sources did not tell Bloomberg whether the cash was set to be supplied by the fund or from SoftBank directly.