Go-Jek and Grab: A battle of competing visions

Funding gap between the competitors reflects big philosophical differences between their investors

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In mid-March, the board of directors of Go-Jek, Indonesia's home-grown, ride-hailing, delivery and payments company, met in Jakarta to discuss one pressing item of business. Arch-rival Grab had just raised US$4.5 billion (S$6 billion), massively strengthening its financial muscle.

Just weeks earlier, Go-Jek had raised US$1 billion, an amount that originally seemed adequate but by comparison suddenly appeared puny, leaving Go-Jek with half as much money in the bank as Grab.

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A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Straits Times on April 26, 2019, with the headline Go-Jek and Grab: A battle of competing visions. Subscribe