Grab is truly pushing forward towards its ambition to be a superapp, with its spate of new feature announcements such as grocery delivery services and news feed feature.
The local ride-hailing firm announced yesterday that it is partnering Chinese healthcare services platform, Ping An Healthcare and Technology Company Limited (Ping An Good Doctor) to offer online healthcare services in Southeast Asia.
Ping An is one of China’s largest online healthcare player and is a recent investor in Grab — it participated in its US$2 billion funding round led by Toyota that was announced in early August.
With over 200 million users, Ping An Good Doctor delivers healthcare solutions via its online platform using artificial intelligence (AI) technology to increase efficiency of online medical consultations.
Ping An hopes to replicate their successful model in China and “export [their] mature technologies and services”.
Together with Grab’s geographic footprint and broad regional reach, this partnership will help address the healthcare needs in the region by providing a one-stop medical health service platform.
According to Grab, the SEA region faces critical healthcare challenges, such as lacking medical infrastructure in some countries, and a rural-urban divide when it comes to the accessibility of doctors.
Efficient and timely healthcare solutions delivered digitally have the potential to transform the industry and medical outcomes.
To Be Launched In Q1 2019
The joint venture will provide an array of integrated medical services such as AI-assisted online medical consultations, medicine delivery, and appointment bookings through an online platform.
In a media statement, the two firms said that they will work with governments, hospitals, doctors, and other key stakeholders and seek partnerships to ensure local market needs are met.
This new service will be launched in selected SEA countries in the first-quarter of 2019, and users can tentatively pay for these services only via Grab’s own digital wallet, GrabPay.
Grab will have a 30 per cent stake in the joint venture, with Ping An Good Doctor holding the rest.
The two companies will put up an initial investment of US$20 million, although they may provide additional funding of up to US$120 million, according to a Ping An Good Doctor filing to the Hong Kong stock exchange.
“We are thrilled to partner Ping An Good Doctor (PAGD) for Grab’s first venture into online healthcare. Grab was founded on the principle of bringing accessible and affordable services to the masses in Southeast Asia, be it in transport, payments, food delivery or groceries. We believe everyone should have access to high-quality and affordable healthcare,” said Anthony Tan, Group CEO and co-founder of Grab.
“Together with PAGD, we will deliver affordable healthcare through technology. This has the potential to make a huge impact in the lives of our families and communities we serve across SEA.”
Featured Image Credit: Grab