Grab to invest $60m in Vay’s remote-driven EV service

Grab has agreed to invest US$60 million in Vay, a Germany-based company that develops remote driving technology, pending regulatory approval and expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2025.

Grab will gain a minority equity stake in Vay following the deal.

The agreement allows for a potential additional investment of up to US$350 million within the first year after closing, at Grab’s option and subject to Vay meeting certain financial and operational milestones.

Vay operates a remote-driven EV rental service in Las Vegas, where users request a car via an app, drive it themselves, and have remote drivers handle delivery and parking.

The company has operated in Las Vegas since 2024 and has completed tens of thousands of trips.

Grab said the investment is part of its broader strategy to expand its mobility offerings and explore remote and autonomous driving technologies.

🔗 Source: Grab

🧠 Food for thought

Implications, context, and why it matters.

Southeast Asia remote driving rules lag Vay’s Vegas pilot

Vay runs remote-driven Electric Vehicle (EV) service in Las Vegas. Trained drivers steer cars over networks, while the region lacks clear rules, putting Grab’s $60 million investment at risk.
Singapore allows Level 4 autonomous vehicles in districts 1. Safety checks at the Centre of Excellence for Testing & Research of Autonomous Vehicles (CETRAN) are required before rollout 2, while Land Transport Authority (LTA) guidance lacks a teleoperation framework 2.
Malaysia is drafting rules for driverless cars and autonomous devices 3. Government wants the ecosystem and regulations before adoption.
Indonesia, Thailand, and Vietnam are early in autonomous vehicles policy work, with first trials expected by 2026 1.

Operators can capture teleoperation demand if remote driving scales

Teleoperation needs ultra-low latency links and real-time data. This drives demand for Multi-Access Edge Computing (MEC) growing at 17% Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) and paired with dynamic network slicing, a 5G feature that dedicates capacity for applications 4.
Operators in Singapore, Malaysia, and Thailand run 5G, letting them offer MEC plus slicing for teleoperation control centers 5.
Singapore targets nationwide outdoor 5G by 2025, while Malaysia runs a 5G wholesale network that sells capacity to operators 6 5. These foundations give carriers infrastructure for edge workloads in remote driving.
Cloud-edge providers can target cities with 5G Standalone architecture (a 5G core not dependent on 4G) as 72 operators support GSM Association (GSMA) Open Gateway with 17 Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) for MEC 4 7.