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thoroughfares into pulsing rivers of green.
For now, Grab is the front-runner. It operates in
more markets than Go-Jek and holds e-payment
licenses in the region’s six largest markets. (Go-Jek
offers such services only in Indonesia and the Philip-
pines.) With its Uber acquisition, Grab has the ride-
hailing market-share lead in Singapore, Malaysia, the
Philippines, and Vietnam, though Go-Jek competes
in each. Even in Indonesia itself, Grab holds 62% of
the ride-share market, according to ABI Research,
although Go-Jek disputes that figure.
Still, Go-Jek is a formidable foe. The venture has
raised $3.1 billion, according to Crunchbase, and
analysts estimate its valuation at $11 billion. And
Makarim argues that Go-Jek’s breadth of services
will win out over time. Although ride-hailing busi-
ness lines at both ventures are widely believed to lose
money, Makarim claims Go-Jek is close to profitability
in its non-transport segments. (Neither company pub-
licly breaks out revenue figures by business line.)
Investors find the race increasingly fascinating—and
tough to handicap. “People tend to interpret the fact
that Grab has raised so much money so quickly as a
sign of strength,” says Jason Davis, an associate profes-
sor of entrepreneurship at the business school Insead in
downloads and says at least half of those who have
used its app have also used its payment service, Go-Pay.
Go-Jek’s founder, 34-year-old Nadiem Makarim,
harbors regional ambitions of his own—and he says
the two Tans ripped off his super-app model. “It’s
really interesting that Grab has started to try to take
that word away from us,” Makarim says. “I’m like, ‘Ex-
cuse me?’ You spend the first years of your life copying
Uber? And then the next three years of your life copy-
ing Go-Jek?” Makarim’s jab elicits a pointed rejoinder
from Grab, whose founders make no claim to invent-
ing the concept. In an email to Fortune, the Tans note
that “having a good idea does not guarantee success.”
The exchange hints at the personal acrimony that has
crept into the rivalry between Makarim and the Tans.
It’s a contempt rooted in familiarity: All three were
classmates at Harvard Business School, and they once
considered one another kindred spirits.
U
NTIL RECENTLY, Grab and Go-Jek mostly
stayed out of each other’s lanes. Now, as
their business models and target markets
converge, the two seem to be on a collision
course. In many cities, the companies have
embarked on a no-holds-barred price war,
slashing fees for car rides, motorcycle trips, and other
services. The conflict can be visually bewildering. In
Indonesia, both ventures have adopted green as their
corporate color, with Grab’s drivers clad in forest and
Go-Jek’s decked in a shade of kelly verging on lime. In
Jakarta, the combined fleets have transformed major
● CAB FARE ANTHONY TAN AND HOOI LING TAN STARTED GRAB WITH $25,000 IN PRIZE MONEY FROM A BUSINESS SCHOOL PITCH CONTEST.
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