Grab reportedly invests in the mobility marketplace company as part of a partnership

Ride-hailing service behemoth Grab sets foot in the UK with the recent partnership ties with Splyt, a London-based mobility marketplace.

The Singapore-based unicorn company also took part in the US$8 million Series A funding round for Splyt, according to a Bloomberg report.

In the official statement, Grab said that the collaboration is meant to give travellers “convenient access to ride-hailing services anywhere in the world.”

The fragmented nature of ride-hailing service often cause international visitors to have to download local mobility apps, or rely on traditional curbside taxi-hailing.

With Grab and Splyt’s partnership, one app of choice enables international travellers to book Grab rides across 336 cities in eight Southeast Asian countries.

Ctrip and AliPay customers visiting Southeast Asia can already take Grab rides through their own apps, via a Splyt-powered solution.

As of now, Splyt continues to bring more partners onboard to integrate mobility directly into platforms to allow access into Grab’s transport options, as stated by CEO Philipp Mintchin.

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The collaboration will also see the second phase of the partnership integrating Splyt and Grab’s network of mobility partners into the Grab app by next year. This will allow Grab users travelling beyond Southeast Asia to continue to book rides through the Grab app in their native language and pay in their home currency, all fulfilled by Splyt’s partners.

Grab also plans to add features such as in-app travel tips, restaurant reviews, and attraction recommendations to enhance travel experience for its users.

“Splyt has a unique vision of wanting to make travel a truly interconnected global experience, and we look forward to working with them to help make it easy to get from A to B, anywhere in the world,” said Mark Porter, Chief Technology Officer for Transport at Grab.

As for the investment, Splyt said that it will use the funding to accelerate Splyt’s expansion into new markets, improve its proprietary technology, and strengthen its network of institutional demand and supply partners for ground-based transportation.

The round brings the total raised by Splyt Technologies to over US$14 million. Mark Porter also joins Splyt’s Board of Directors.

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Image Credit: Grab

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