Singapore, March 3, 2023: Grab, Southeast Asia’s leading superapp, has been named to Fast Company’s prestigious annual list of the World’s Most Innovative Companies for 2023. Featured alongside companies which are setting the standard with some of the greatest accomplishments of the modern world, Grab was recognised for its enterprise service, GrabMaps, in the Asia-Pacific category. On this list are the most innovative companies across the Asia-Pacific region, who are finding local solutions with global implications. 

Grab’s full stack of mapping technology has been developed in-house and was launched in June 2022. Today, it powers Grab’s verticals in all 8 countries the company operates in, achieving 100% self-sufficiency. GrabMaps disrupts existing mapping models with a granular and highly accurate view of Southeast Asia built by and for the local community. Grab’s map data is updated all the time, fed by the orders and rides it serves daily, and is augmented by contributions from driver-partners who collect data using proprietary camera hardware. Grab is also piloting its Kartacam technology, for low-cost and yet high-quality map data collection, beyond Southeast Asia- in Paris, Johannesburg, Sri Lanka, Las Vegas, Seattle and Jordan. 

Grab is also sharing this capability and its edge in accuracy, coverage, freshness and cost-effectiveness, as an enterprise service, with other companies including Amazon Web Services, helping them build services and applications to better serve Southeast Asians. GrabMaps’ high-quality regional mapping data includes over 50 million addresses and points of interests (POIs) across SEA. It powers over 800 billion API calls per month across a variety of services encompassing places search, ETA calculations, routing, navigation and more and has helped add more than 800,000 kilometers of missing roads to the OpenStreetMap. 

Philipp Kandal, Chief Product Officer, Grab, said, “The inclusion of Grab on this year’s ‘Most Innovative Companies’ list is both humbling and a testament to our focus on finding innovative solutions to problems that Southeast Asians face. GrabMaps, in particular, is a stellar example of the massive positive impact that technologies born in Southeast Asia can have.” 

“What a strange and thrilling year it has been to honor this year’s Most Innovative Companies. This year’s list compiles some of the most cutting-edge groundbreakers who are changing our world every single day, from legacy organizations, institutions to upstarts. Everyone on this list does something completely, uniquely different, yet, they all have one thing in common: innovation,” said Fast Company editor-in-chief Brendan Vaughan.

Since 2008, Fast Company’s Most Innovative Companies has been the definitive source for recognizing the organizations that are transforming industries and shaping society. The World’s Most Innovative Companies is Fast Company’s signature franchise and one of its most highly anticipated editorial efforts of the year. It provides a firsthand look at the inspiring and innovative efforts of companies across all sectors of the economy. Fast Company’s editors and writers sought out the companies making the biggest strides around the globe. They also judged nominations received through their application process.

About Grab

Grab is a leading superapp in Southeast Asia, operating across the deliveries, mobility and digital financial services sectors. Serving over 500 cities in eight Southeast Asian countries – Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam – Grab enables millions of people everyday to order food or groceries, send packages, hail a ride or taxi, pay for online purchases or access services such as lending and insurance, all through a single app. Grab was founded in 2012 with the mission to drive Southeast Asia forward by creating economic empowerment for everyone, and strives to serve a triple bottom line: to simultaneously deliver financial performance for its shareholders and have a positive social and environmental impact in Southeast Asia. 

About Fast Company

Fast Company is the only media brand fully dedicated to the vital intersection of business, innovation and design, engaging the most influential leaders, companies and thinkers on the future of business. Headquartered in New York City, Fast Company is published by Mansueto Ventures LLC along with our sister publication Inc. and can be found online at www.fastcompany.com.