Grab to make its first investment in India by putting $100m in hotel chain OYO

Southeast Asia’s ride-hailing giant Grab is reportedly in advanced talks to invest US$100 million in Indian hotel chain startup OYO Hotels & Homes, according to the Economic Times, marking Grab’s first ever investment in India.

The investment is part of OYO’s $1 billion ongoing funding round. Founded in 2013, the company has raised US$1.5 billion so far.

OYO announced the launch of its operations in Indonesia last year, a market both OYO and Grab deemed as a key growth driver.

In addition to its Indonesia initiative, the hotel chain has also announced a $600 million plan to speed up its operations in China, a country it counts as a core market alongside India, with the rest directed towards hiring and other overseas markets such as South-East Asia and the UK, according to the report.

Both Grab and OYO are backed by SoftBank.

Editor: Ben Jiang