Carri, a delivery robot, will start operating in Singapore’s Punggol district, a testing hub for robotic services. The robot has already been working in Grab’s Singapore headquarters corridors. Grab’s technology leadership says business units are not required to use only Grab robots, and other companies’ robots are also present in the office. Grab uses a 1+n strategy to keep teams adaptable. The chief technology officer joined the company early, initially working with MyTeksi to improve taxi safety in Kuala Lumpur. Personal stories about feeling unsafe in taxis motivated involvement. He later moved to Singapore, helped through multiple engineering and leadership roles, and became CTO in 2022.
"But Carri has already been plying the corridors of Grab's Singapore headquarters, says chief technology officer Suthen Paradatheth. And Carri's not alone. "We don't oblige our business units to just use our robots," Paradatheth told Fortune during an interview on the sidelines of the Asia Tech (ATx) summit. "If you go to the Grab office now, you'll see robots from other companies as well. We use a 1+n strategy which keeps us on our toes.""
"Paradatheth has been involved with Grab from almost the very beginning, before the company even got its name. He joined the firm, then a Malaysia-based ride-hailing outfit called MyTeksi, as a part-time consultant after a mutual friend introduced him to its founders, Anthony Tan and Tan Hooi Ling. "Our mission was to make taxis safer in Kuala Lumpur," Paradatheth explained."
""Ling told me a story of starting a call with her mom whenever she rode home at night; even if they didn't speak, it was a way to make sure the driver knew she was being monitored by someone." The anecdote hit home for Paradatheth, whose own sister had similarly recounted feeling unsafe while riding taxis. "I saw a very real problem to get involved in," he said."
""A lot of folks have grown with the company, just like me," he said. "Many of the senior leaders in the company are people who were with me during the 2012 storeroom days; they came as interns and are now heads of engineering.""
Read at Fortune
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