Grab partners with OpenAI to train 30,000 driver, delivery, and merchant partners in AI skills across Southeast Asia
The superapp's expanded collaboration with OpenAI includes free ChatGPT Plus access and in-person masterclasses rolling out across four countries over two years.
Grab, the Southeast Asian superapp that handles everything from ride-hailing to food delivery to financial services, is teaming up with OpenAI to teach 30,000 of its driver, delivery, and merchant partners how to actually use AI. The program, called “GO Forward with AI,” launched with in-person masterclasses in Singapore on September 23 and will expand to Thailand, Indonesia, and the Philippines over the next two years.
What the training actually covers
The curriculum is built around practical applications that Grab’s partners can use immediately: sales data analysis, business planning, pricing strategy, marketing, and inventory forecasting. Participants will learn how to leverage tools like ChatGPT for day-to-day productivity gains.
Every trainee also gets three months of free access to ChatGPT Plus after completing the program. That’s a meaningful sweetener, considering ChatGPT Plus normally runs $20 per month, meaning each participant effectively receives $60 worth of AI tooling at no cost.
The training is being customized for each market and partner type. Merchant-focused sessions will zero in on things like inventory management and demand forecasting, while driver and delivery partner tracks will presumably emphasize route optimization and customer engagement.
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The adoption gap that sparked this
Grab’s own research surfaced a telling statistic: only 50% of its drivers in Singapore currently use AI tools. Among the non-users, 87% said they’d be willing to try AI if given the opportunity.
The current initiative builds on a partnership that dates back to May 2024, when OpenAI signed its first major collaboration in Southeast Asia. That initial deal focused on integrating AI into Grab’s mapping and customer support systems, along with a pilot program giving Grab employees access to ChatGPT Enterprise.
Grab also launched its own AI Centre of Excellence in May 2025, creating an internal hub for developing and deploying AI capabilities across the company.