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Uber Pulls Out Of South East Asian Market – Sells To Grab

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Global taxi hailing startup Uber Technologies Inc., is withdrawing its South East Asian operations and has agreed to sell its business to rival Grab.

According to reports, the US based ride hailing firm has reached an agreement to sell its business to the bigger, regional rival Grab. This move marks the second time the company had to retreat from Asia. As per the agreement, Uber would get a 30% stake in the combined business while Grab will acquire all of Uber’s operations including their food delivery service UberEats. Uber’s Chief Executive Officer Dara Khosrowshahi will join the board of the Singapore based company, post the transaction. The transaction would also value Grab at $6 billion, the same valuation it commanded in its most recent capital raising.

Speaking about the acquisition Grab’s Chief Executive Officer Anthony Tan said, “Today’s acquisition marks the beginning of a new era. The combined business is the leader in platform and cost efficiency in the region.” The cease fire also marks a victory for the Japan based venture capital firm SoftBank Group Corp., who is currently the biggest shareholder in both companies. The venture firm has been pushing to reduce competition in the Southeast Asian ride hailing market in order to reach a market capitalization of $20.1 billion by 2025.

This is the third time the company sold one of its businesses to rivals in foreign markets. In 2016, Uber had to sell its business in China to Didi Chuxing after a fierce battle in which both the companies burned through cash to court drivers and riders with rich subsidies. In 2017, Uber had to negotiate a similar deal in Russia selling the firm’s Russian business to the ride hailing firm Yandex.

After Dara Khosrowshahi took over as the chief executive officer, the company has been focusing on cleaning up the company’s financials preparing for the initial public offering set for next year. However, according to Khosrowshahi, the company is committed to key markets such as Japan and India. In a statement, Khosrowshahi said, “(The deal) will help us double down on our plans for growth as we invest heavily in our products and technology.”

Founded in 2012 in Kuala Lumpur, Grab is one of South East Asia’s dominant ride hailing service. In the past 4 years, the company has managed to raise $4 billion from investors and offer services in 191 cities across Singapore, Indonesia, the Philippines, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam, Myanmar and Cambodia.

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Funding

Flam Secures $14M Series A to Revolutionize Mixed Reality Marketing with AI

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AI infrastructure startup Flam has raised $14 million in a Series A round led by RTP Global, with participation from Dovetail and existing investors, bringing its total funding to $22 million. Founded in 2021, Flam enables brands to create and deliver high-fidelity mixed reality (MR) and generative AI experiences without the need for app downloads, allowing consumers to access immersive content via QR codes or links in under 300 milliseconds.

Flam’s platform is already used by over 100 global brands-including Google, Samsung, and Netflix-reaching more than 380 million users. The new funding will accelerate product innovation, expand operations in North America, Europe, and Asia, and launch a full-stack enterprise suite for MR and GenAI-driven marketing. The company currently has over 120 employees and plans to grow to 180 by the end of 2025, aiming to transform every brand touchpoint into an interactive digital experience.

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Startup News

Sarvam AI Unveils Bulbul V2: Speech Model Supporting 11 Indian Languages

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Sarvam AI, the Bengaluru-based GenAI startup selected by the Indian government to develop the country’s first sovereign large language model (LLM), has launched Bulbul V2-a speech AI model supporting 11 Indian languages, including Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Marathi, Bengali, Punjabi, and Odia.


Bulbul V2 stands out for its natural, regionally authentic accents, delivering speech that sounds genuinely Indian rather than robotic or rehearsed. The model offers ultra-fast performance with a P90 latency of just 0.398 seconds, significantly faster than global competitors like ElevenLabs, and is priced at ₹15 per 10,000 characters-five times cheaper than leading alternatives. Brands can also customize voices to create unique audio identities.

This launch reinforces Sarvam’s mission to make AI accessible and inclusive for India’s diverse population. Alongside Bulbul V2, Sarvam is building India’s first sovereign LLM under the IndiaAI Mission, focusing on secure, scalable, and multilingual AI solutions developed entirely within the country using local talent and infrastructure

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Funding

Info Edge Delivers 36% Returns on Startup Investments

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Info Edge, the parent of Naukri.com, has achieved a 36% gross internal rate of return (IRR) on its startup investments since 2007, turning a total investment of INR 3,959 crore across 111 startups into a portfolio now valued at INR 36,855 crore-a nearly 9X gain. Early bets on Zomato and Policybazaar have been especially lucrative, with holdings in these two companies alone worth INR 31,500 crore as of March 2025.

The company’s investment strategy spans multiple vehicles, including the SEBI-registered Info Edge Venture Fund (IEVF), Info Edge Capital, and Capital 2B, with a combined fund corpus of INR 3,423 crore and Info Edge committing INR 1,614 crore. Early-stage investments now contribute 30-40% of the company’s overall value.

Info Edge’s Alternative Investment Fund (AIF) investments have yielded an IRR of 18.7%. Many portfolio companies, such as TrueMeds, Geniemode, Attentive.ai, and InPrime, have attracted follow-on funding from major investors like Accel, Peak XV Partners, and Tiger Global. Notably, BlueStone, the largest investment of Info Edge Capital, has filed for an IPO after securing investments from Prosus, Peak XV, and Steadview Capital.

Founder Sanjeev Bikhchandani emphasized the company’s focus on strong governance and financial controls, with a preference for value realization through public listings or strategic exits.

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