Skift Take
What if you could use your everyday ridehailing app anywhere in the world? No more cumbersome downloads of another app or losing loyalty points from your app. That’s what Grab wants to achieve with its investment in Splyt. Too good to be true?
Southeast Asia’s Grab is a key investor in a new $8 million funding round for Splyt Technologies, a London-based startup that aggregates ground transportation supply and demand globally so you don't have to download a new regional app.
The round is considered the largest Series A funding in transportation connectivity and brings the total raise for Splyt to just over $14 million, according to a statement. The startup was founded in 2015 and now has a 50-member team.
Grab Chief Technology Officer Mark Porter told Skift: “The vision for this investment is that any user in any geography can go to any other geography and use their preferred app, in their language and currency, with their loyalty program.
“This removes a large amount of friction travelers feel right now, which is landing in another country and not having the right app, or that it might not be in a language they are familiar with or a currency they are comfortable with.”
Beginning 2020, a Grab user from, say, Singapore or Vietnam, can use his Grab app in New York or London, for example, instead of being greeted by
