May Mobility to Expand Its AV Technology into Southeast Asia with Grab Investment

Rhea-AI Summary

May Mobility and Grab (NASDAQ: GRAB) announced a multi-year strategic partnership and an investment by Grab into May Mobility on October 23, 2025 to launch autonomous vehicle (AV) services in Southeast Asia.

The deal will integrate May Mobility's MPDM driving technology with Grab's GrabMaps and core ecosystem (fleet management, matching, routing). Partners plan joint deployments, technical collaboration, and training/upskilling pathways for Grab driver-partners, with the first joint deployment actively being planned.

Insights

AV commercialization & partnerships analyst

May Mobility's tie-up and Grab investment accelerates AV market entry into Southeast Asia with strategic tech and operational alignment.

May Mobility gains a distribution and integration channel into Southeast Asia through a multi-year partnership and direct backing from Grab, enabling the company to plug its MPDM driving stack into Grab's fleet, routing and GrabMaps mapping data. The business mechanism pairs May Mobility's AI decision-making and operational playbook with Grab's local platform reach and hyperlocal maps to shorten deployment time and lift localization work.

The plan depends on several concrete dependencies and risks: successful technical integration with Grab's fleet systems and GrabMaps, regulatory approvals and road rules in target jurisdictions, and safe adaptation to local conditions such as left-hand driving and dense urban traffic. The announcement cites adaptability of MPDM to "edge cases," but implementation success remains conditional on execution and local regulators.

Key near-term items to watch are the companies' first joint deployment timeline and specific operational pilots, the scope of Grab's investment and any regulatory filings, and how GrabMaps and MPDM perform together in real-time conditions; expect measurable milestones within a 12–36 months commercialization horizon following the Oct. 23, 2025 agreement.

–The investment is part of a strategic partnership between both companies that brings May Mobility AVs to Southeast Asia–

–Grab and May Mobility technical collaboration to accelerate deployment–

ANN ARBOR, Mich., Oct. 23, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- May Mobility, Inc., a leading autonomous vehicle (AV) technology company, and Grab Holdings Limited (NASDAQ: GRAB), Southeast Asia's leading superapp, today announced their multi-year partnership with plans to launch autonomous vehicle services in Southeast Asia. This partnership includes an investment by Grab into May Mobility, backing the AV company as it expands its commercial reach in the global autonomous ride-hail market beyond the U.S. and Japan.

Grab and May Mobility will partner to integrate the latter's autonomous driving technology into Grab's core ecosystem, including its fleet management, vehicle matching and routing systems. The partnership will combine May Mobility's operational best practices and Grab's local expertise to facilitate the safe and reliable implementation of AVs into Southeast Asia, tailored to the unique needs of local infrastructure. Grab will be able to learn from May Mobility's deployments in places like the U.S. as it ramps up its in-house capabilities. Grab will also work with May Mobility to identify training, upskilling and transition opportunities for Grab driver-partners interested in AV-related roles.

"We believe AVs have an important role to play in the future of mobility in Southeast Asia, complementing our driver network as well as public transport systems. Grab is intent on taking an active role in facilitating the introduction of AVs with a safety-first approach, and in a way that benefits the wider community,"  said Dominic Ong, General Manager of Autonomous at Grab. "We see our partnership with May Mobility as a powerful synergy of hyperlocal expertise and global capabilities. We are excited to learn from them and work with them to adapt their technology to Southeast Asia's needs."

As part of the partnership, May Mobility plans to leverage Grab's proprietary mapping technology, GrabMaps, to study Southeast Asia road infrastructure. Map technology and location-based data solutions are foundational to an autonomous vehicle's ability to safely and precisely navigate the world. The GrabMaps collaboration will help speed up the deployment of May Mobility's AVs and drive more efficient operations. GrabMaps was developed through Grab's operations throughout the densely populated cities of Southeast Asia, using high-volume data collection and AI-based processing to deliver maps and location-based solutions with hyperlocal accuracy and coverage. Constant, real-time feedback to GrabMaps keeps them up to date with changing conditions, such as traffic build-ups and road closures, features that can improve the May Mobility AV rider experience.

May Mobility's Multi-Policy Decision Making (MPDM) driving technology uses AI reasoning models to analyze thousands of potential scenarios every second and then selects the optimal maneuver in any given situation, even "edge cases." This approach allows May Mobility's vehicles to adapt quickly to the unexpected, without relying exclusively on vast amounts of pre-collected, geographically specific data. Thanks to MPDM's adaptability, May Mobility's AVs can rapidly adjust to new international requirements—like Southeast Asian traffic conditions and left-hand driving—without the need for extensive retraining. The integration of Grab's mapping technology with May Mobility's patented autonomous driving system will enable faster localization and expansion into new markets.

"Grab is not only a leading mobility and technology player, but also an innovator in AV adoption across Southeast Asia," said Dr. Edwin Olson, CEO and founder of May Mobility. "Their belief in our technology, along with our shared urgency to bring autonomous vehicles to people around the world, will power May's next stage of growth."

This strategic agreement is May Mobility's third ride-hail partnership, and comes alongside its recent launch on the Lyft network in Atlanta and its upcoming launch on the Uber platform. May Mobility's partner-driven approach to commercialization focuses its resources on AV technology, while relying on leading ecosystem players like Grab to provide other parts of the value chain.

Grab and May Mobility are actively planning their first deployment together, as well as evaluating other areas of technical collaboration. The companies also plan to explore May Mobility leveraging Grab's mapping technology for future endeavors beyond Southeast Asia, helping the AV company to efficiently scale its operations more quickly across the globe.

About May Mobility
May Mobility is an autonomous vehicle (AV) technology company redefining the future of autonomy-as-a-service (AaaS). Leveraging its patented Multi-Policy Decision Making (MPDM) system, May Mobility built an industry-leading in-situ AI solution, which integrates real-time data every 200 milliseconds to prioritize safety and efficiency, even in unpredictable situations. Operating on-demand vehicles across the U.S. and Japan, May Mobility delivers safer, more efficient transportation across diverse environments, including rural cities, dense urban areas and diverse weather conditions. Backed by strategic partnerships with industry leaders, including Toyota Motor Corporation and NTT, May Mobility is disrupting the autonomous vehicle industry with one of the most practical vehicle offerings available. The company has completed nearly half a million rides across 19 deployments worldwide. For more information, visit www.maymobility.com.

About Grab
Grab is a leading superapp in Southeast Asia, operating across the deliveries, mobility and digital financial services sectors. Serving over 800 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. We operate supermarkets in Malaysia under Jaya Grocer and Everrise, which enables us to bring the convenience of on-demand grocery delivery to more consumers in the country. As part of our financial services offerings, we also provide digital banking services through GXS Bank in Singapore and GXBank in Malaysia. Grab was founded in 2012 with the mission to drive Southeast Asia forward by creating economic empowerment for everyone. Grab strives to serve a triple bottom line – we aim to simultaneously deliver financial performance for our shareholders and have a positive social impact, which includes economic empowerment for millions of people in the region, while mitigating our environmental footprint.

This press release contains statements that may constitute "forward-looking" statements pursuant to the "safe harbor" provisions of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements can be identified by terminology such as "will," "expects," "anticipates," "aims," "future," "intends," "plans," "believes," "estimates," "likely to," and similar statements. Statements that are not historical facts, including statements about WeRide and Grab's beliefs, plans, and expectations, are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements involve inherent risks and uncertainties. Further information regarding these and other risks is included in WeRide and Grab's filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. All information provided in this Report is as of the date of this Report. May Mobility and Grab do not undertake any obligation to update any forward-looking statement, except as required under applicable law.

 

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SOURCE May Mobility

FAQ

What did Grab announce about investing in May Mobility on October 23, 2025 (GRAB)?

Grab announced a multi-year partnership and an investment into May Mobility to support AV deployments in Southeast Asia.

How will May Mobility's MPDM technology work with GrabMaps for GRAB deployments?

May Mobility's MPDM AI will be integrated with GrabMaps to speed localization and improve AV navigation in Southeast Asian road conditions.

When will Grab and May Mobility begin their first AV deployment in Southeast Asia (GRAB)?

The companies said they are actively planning their first deployment together but did not provide a specific launch date.

Will Grab driver-partners be affected by the May Mobility partnership (GRAB)?

Grab will explore training, upskilling, and transition opportunities for driver-partners interested in AV-related roles.

Does the Grab–May Mobility deal include global expansion beyond Southeast Asia (GRAB)?

The partnership includes plans to evaluate technical collaboration and potential use of GrabMaps to help May Mobility scale into other markets.

How does this partnership relate to May Mobility's other ride-hail integrations?

May Mobility said this is its third ride-hail partnership, alongside recent network launches with Lyft in Atlanta and an upcoming launch on the Uber platform.