Grab Revenue Rises 27% as AI Boosts Driver and Merchant Pay
Southeast Asian super app Grab reported a 27% revenue increase as its mobility, delivery, and financial units all reached profitability for the first time.
Grab hits profitability milestone across core divisions
Grab, the Southeast Asian super app, reported a 27% increase in revenue on Tuesday, November 3, 2026. The company reached a significant financial milestone during the quarter as its three core operating segments—mobility, deliveries, and financial services—reached profitability simultaneously for the first time. This performance marks a turning point for the Singapore-based firm as it balances aggressive expansion with fiscal discipline.
According to the company, the growth was driven by a combination of increased consumer engagement across multiple services and the implementation of artificial intelligence (AI) tools designed to improve efficiency for both drivers and merchants. While many tech firms are grappling with the expenses associated with new technology—similar to how Apple forecasts slower services growth as AI costs rise—Grab leadership suggested that their AI investments are already delivering measurable returns to the bottom line.
How AI is changing the Southeast Asian super app
Management highlighted that a central pillar of Grab's current strategy involves embedding AI directly into daily consumer interactions and merchant operations. The company has launched several high-profile collaborations to further this goal:
Meta Partnership: Grab is piloting Meta's "Muse" AI assistant in Singapore. This allows customers to build grocery baskets for GrabMart directly within chat interfaces, completing the transaction within the Grab app.
OpenAI Collaboration: The company is working with OpenAI to provide practical AI tools to 30,000 drivers and merchant partners across the region.
Performance Gains: CEO Anthony Tan reported that merchants using these AI assistants have seen a roughly 20% uplift in business. Furthermore, drivers using the tools are earning more than 10% more per online hour.
Despite the digital focus, Tan emphasized that the physical network remains the company's competitive advantage.
"As AI agents become a new way for consumers to transact, every order they place still needs to be fulfilled on the ground through the drivers, the merchants, and logistics, and licenses we have built for over more than a decade,"
Tan said during the earnings call. He noted that the company's models benefit from data gathered over 20 billion cumulative transactions, providing a deep understanding of regional habits.
Consumer shifts toward multi-service use
The earnings report also revealed a significant shift in how users interact with the platform. Grab is successfully converting single-service users into "multi-vertical" shoppers. Customers who order from both GrabFood and GrabMart now represent 43% of the total food gross merchandise value (GMV). Notably, these users tend to spend more, with average basket sizes roughly 10% larger than those who only use one service.
The company's grocery business is a particular bright spot, with grocery GMV expanding 1.8 times faster than prepared food delivery. This growth is being bolstered by GrabMall, a branded retail channel that uses the company's existing last-mile logistics to provide quick-commerce fulfillment for major brands. This diversification suggests the company is moving beyond its roots as a ride-hailing firm to become an indispensable retail and financial hub.
Future growth through financial acquisitions
Looking ahead, Grab is moving to strengthen its financial services arm. Management confirmed plans to acquire Atome Financial, a Singapore-based provider of buy now, pay later (BNPL) services. Grab Chief Financial Officer Peter Oey described the deal as a "sizable acquisition" that would open significant opportunities within the Grab ecosystem. In an interview with The Wall Street Journal, Oey clarified that the Atome deal would be the second-largest acquisition in Grab's history.
This push into financial services follows a setback in the company's geographical expansion. Management noted that a previous effort to enter the Taiwanese market was thwarted, making the deepening of its existing ecosystem through acquisitions like Atome a more critical path for growth.
What this means for users and investors
For investors, the simultaneous profitability of all three core segments suggests that Grab has moved past the era of burning cash to acquire market share. The focus has shifted to extracting more value from its existing user base. The successful integration of AI tools suggests the company can improve margins by making its workforce more efficient rather than simply raising prices.
For consumers and merchants in Southeast Asia, the news indicates that Grab is likely to remain the dominant "gatekeeper" for digital services. Users can expect more conversational shopping experiences as AI assistants like Muse become standard. For the 30,000 drivers and merchants currently using new AI tools, the data suggests a tangible increase in hourly earnings and sales volume, potentially making the platform more attractive to workers even as competition in the gig economy remains stiff.
Finally, for savers and borrowers, the acquisition of Atome Financial suggests that Grab's financial services will soon offer more flexible credit options. As the company integrates BNPL services more deeply, users may find more ways to finance everyday purchases directly through the app they already use for transport and food.
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