GrabTaxi opens new R&D center in Singapore, nabs Facebook Connect creator as CTO

GrabTaxi is opening a new research and development center in Singapore, the taxi booking app announced today. According to a press release, the occasion “represents the next phase of GrabTaxi’s strategic growth as it expands across the region.” The center will be located in Singapore’s Central Business District (CBD) and will house the company’s top line of software engineers.

Just before a media event for the announcement of the new facility, Tech in Asia caught up with new GrabTaxi CTO Wei Zhu, former Facebook engineer and developer of Facebook Connect (better known now as “Log in with Facebook”), the method to log into third party websites using your Facebook credentials.

It turns out GrabTaxi barely snatched Zhu before he got out the door, as he tells us; he was ready to leave for the US, where he planned to work on his own startup. “I had already sold my car, booked my flights, and was in the middle of packing,” he says, when GrabTaxi got in touch. And then, change of plans: “I was intrigued because I had been following the transportation space for a while and I find it fascinating. After meeting with [CEO and co-founder of GrabTaxi Anthony Tan] and spending time with the team, I was convinced that working at GrabTaxi would allow me to expand my horizons, work on interesting technical challenges, and potentially change the world the way Facebook did.”

Zhu will be working in a decidedly different environment than Silicon Valley, but how different remains to be seen. “Southeast Asia has its unique set of challenges naturally,” he says. “Part of that is the infrastructure and the occasional lack of it. The other is the fact that it can be very difficult to attract the talent needed to build a strong team. Most of the talented engineers and tech-oriented staff go to work in the US or China, or if they decide to stay here, they apply for jobs with the large global firms.”

This difference in approaching the job market is one of the things Zhu notes as most striking in his experience. “I find that to be the most different aspect between Singapore and Silicon Valley because no star engineers in Silicon Valley would want to work for a bank. We are working on changing the mindsets of top engineers and their parents, telling them that they should be bold, chase their dreams. You can do challenging work, have fun, and make money all at the same time at GrabTaxi.”

That said, Zhu is excited by the startup activity in Southeast Asia and Singapore in particular. “It is growing and there’s no doubt about that,” he points out. “There is still some way to go if they want to catch up to places like Silicon Valley or even the Chinese startup industry, but what is most promising is the sheer size and potential of the region. Singapore is probably the closest when it comes to infrastructure and also has great government support. The support from the [Economic Development Board] in bringing this R&D center to Singapore was great and will essentially spur growth in the whole startup industry here.”

Of course, GrabTaxi is hardly the only player in town, or indeed the region, when it comes to taxi booking and transport apps. Stiff competition by similar apps such as Uber must be keeping the company on its toes. The new R&D center, then, could be a factor that helps the company pull ahead. “Right now our focus is building GrabTaxi’s backend infrastructure to a point where scaling is very easy,” Zhu explains. “What this R&D center can offer GrabTaxi is the ability to turn our understanding of the region into a serviceable product or feature. Our engineers, product managers, and designers live and breathe in this land and we believe this will enable us to build products better suited for this region.”

Zhu hopes to bring some of the expertise and lessons he acquired during his time with Facebook to his new role, together with what he calls a “more global outlook”. “Personally I believe we have everything in place and we’re poised to be the next great tech company in the world,” he adds.