SINGAPORE, 23 September 2026 — Grab and OpenAI today announced ‘GO Forward with AI’, a regional partnership to equip 30,000 driver-, delivery-, and merchant-partners across Southeast Asia with practical AI skills, over the next two years. Launched first in Singapore, the programme under GrabAcademy will expand to Thailand, Indonesia and the Philippines later this year. 

This partnership between OpenAI and Grab is not new. Since May 2024, the two companies have collaborated on several applied- AI initiatives, including Driver AI Assistant, Grab’s in-app assistant for drivers that provides them with personalised guidance to find demand, optimise earnings and resolve day-to-day questions. Powered by OpenAI’s models, Driver AI Assistant has reached close to 500,000 drivers, bringing practical AI use to their everyday work. 

As AI reshapes how people work and do business, ‘GO Forward with AI’ aims to ensure that Grab’s partner communities are equipped with practical skills to benefit from these new opportunities. The programme focuses on real-world applications that matter to partners’ livelihoods and ambitions – from helping merchants make smarter business decisions and grow their businesses, to enabling driver- and delivery-partners to explore entrepreneurial ideas and new pathways to income. 

Participants will also be introduced to ChatGPT Work, enabling them to make the most of new agentic capabilities within ChatGPT. Instead of using AI only for one-off questions, they will learn how to delegate multi-step tasks, such as creating and executing a business expansion plan, turning sales and forecast data into an interactive tracking dashboard, building a simple website to showcase products, or creating repeatable workflows for everyday operations like inventory management, while remaining in control of the outcome.

‘GO Forward with AI’ is OpenAI’s first regional AI-skilling programme in Southeast Asia with Grab, with ‘GO’ in the name representing the initials of Grab and OpenAI and the momentum behind their work together. To help partners understand the technology and apply it confidently, the programme takes a hands-on, market-by-market approach. OpenAI and Grab teams will visit participating markets to deliver half-day, in-person masterclasses based on OpenAI Academy’s curriculum and tailored accordingly for Grab’s driver-, delivery- and merchant-partner communities. The collaboration will also use a train-the-trainer model, equipping GrabAcademy’s regional trainer network to deliver the programme more widely and extend practical AI training to more partners across Southeast Asia over time.

‘GO Forward with AI’ was developed and shaped by Grab partners in Indonesia, Singapore and Thailand who aspire to grow or start businesses. However, they needed practical digital skills to help turn those ambitions into reality. In Singapore, only 50% of driver- and delivery-partners currently use AI tools; among those who have yet to adopt AI tools, 87% say they were open to adopting new AI tools. Among merchant-partners, only 33% currently use AI in their work and only 25% say that their employees are able to apply AI effectively in their work¹.

“Grab and OpenAI share a common mission: to ensure the benefits of AI are more accessible and meaningful for the communities we serve,” said Ong Chin Yin, Chief Organisational Capability Officer at Grab. “Our partners are intrigued by AI, and many are looking for practical guidance on how to apply it in ways that are relevant to their work, businesses and aspirations. This programme is about building that confidence – whether it’s helping a merchant make smarter business decisions or giving a driver-partner the tools to explore a new business idea and create new opportunities for growth.” 

“ChatGPT has seen strong adoption across Southeast Asia, reflecting the region’s openness to new technology, but many are still only scratching the surface of what it can help them achieve,” said Oliver Jay, Managing Director, International at OpenAI. “Launching the ‘GO Forward with AI’ programme first in Singapore is part of our OpenAI for Singapore commitment to make AI accessible to all. We’re proud to partner Grab, who share our belief that AI should be practical, accessible and useful for the communities we serve. Together, we want to help merchants and platform workers gain confidence in using agentic AI capabilities like ChatGPT Work to unlock greater efficiency and new opportunities in their work and businesses.”

GO Forward with AI: Singapore training 

For driver- and delivery-partners, the Singapore training focuses on entrepreneurship. Participants will learn how to use ChatGPT to shape and validate business ideas, sharpen value propositions, explore pricing approaches, and create simple marketing materials and action plans. By helping participants move from idea to execution, the programme supports those who want to explore additional pathways for income and growth. 

Suhada Abdullah, a Grab driver-partner, said: “As someone who is always keen to pick up new skills and opportunities, AI helps me to explore new ideas and make more informed decisions everyday. The workshops took me from idea to execution, and I’ve been exploring new ways to support our family hawker business, while building projects that could help me generate alternative streams of income. I’m excited to keep learning and building up my ideas.”

For merchant-partners, ‘GO Forward with AI’ will focus on using AI to support smarter business decisions and everyday operations. Participants will learn how to use ChatGPT to analyse point-of-sale data, identify trends, shape revenue and promotional strategies, and build AI-powered workflows to support areas such as menu engineering, demand forecasting, inventory planning and waste reduction. These capabilities complement the AI-powered tools already available on Grab’s merchant platform, including Merchant AI Assistant. 

Manfred Ho, Founder and CEO of Genista Lane shared, “As a small business owner, my time is split between managing back-office admin and serving customers. The hands-on training format was exactly what I needed. I connected ChatGPT Work directly to my payroll files and completed in 20 minutes what normally takes two hours. That extra time means I can spend less time behind a computer and more time hands-on with my customers. It’s empowering to see how accessible AI can be when paired with the right support, and I’m excited to start applying what I learned to other parts of my business.” 

All participants will receive three months of complimentary access to ChatGPT Plus, allowing them to continue practising and applying what they have learned beyond the workshops.