Grab to open largest R&D centre in new HQ

The one-north property can house up to 3,000 employees.

Grab and Ascendas Real Estate Investment Trust (Ascendas Reit) held a groundbreaking ceremony for Grab’s new headquarters in Singapore at one-north business park. According to an announcement, the new building will house up to 3,000 employees and its largest R&D centre under one roof.

“The new space will cater to our evolving business demands as we continue to innovate and use technology to meet our customers’ daily needs, groom more tech talents, and nurture more tech startups for Southeast Asia,” said Lim Kell Jay, country head, Grab Singapore.

Separately, Grab Ventures Velocity (GVV), Grab’s flagship scale-up programme for post-seed startups introduced in June 2018, will open application for its second batch from now until 15 May 2019.

It will have two tracks that will focus on startups with solutions that target the fresh groceries supply chain and help small businesses digitise. The second track will be launched in partnership partner with e-commerce firm Kudo and will be trialed with its agent network in Indonesia.

Selected startups will be given the opportunity to pilot their solutions with Grab’s users and merchant partners. They will also get access to Grab’s internal and external network of C-level advisors and experts.

The startups will also leverage GrabPlatform resources, such as Grab’s cloud APIs, to accelerate their product development. If they are successful with their pilots, up to two selected startups will receive partnership opportunities to scale their business with Grab, the firm said.