GRAB UNVEILS HIGH-PRECISION GPS TRIAL IN SINGAPORE
At the Global Startup Awards, we love highlighting the moments when innovators in our ecosystem take bold steps that push entire industries forward. Today, we’re excited to celebrate a breakthrough that marks a turning point for mobility and mapping technology in Southeast Asia.
Grab has launched a pioneering pilot of a high-accuracy GPS positioning system, bringing lane-level precision to GrabMaps and setting a new benchmark for navigation in dense urban environments like Singapore.
This isn’t just an upgrade to an app. It’s a major leap toward smarter mobility, better real-time navigation, and more reliable location services for millions across the region.
RAISING THE BAR IN URBAN NAVIGATION
Grab has been committed to solving the complexities of Southeast Asia’s cities, multi-level road networks, towering buildings, underground pick-up zones, and GPS signals that often bounce or get lost. With this new pilot, the company is entering a completely new league of technical capability.
In partnership with OPPO, Qualcomm Technologies, and Swift Navigation, Grab is rolling out Southeast Asia’s first integration of high-accuracy GPS using mobile phones and app-based correction technology.
Powered by OPPO’s Find N5 device, Qualcomm’s Snapdragon® 8 Elite Mobile Platform, and Swift Navigation’s Skylark™ Precise Positioning Service, the pilot delivers sub-meter accuracy, far beyond what conventional GPS can achieve.
Around 250 driver- and delivery-partners are participating in the pilot, giving Grab real-world insights into how lane-level precision can improve pick-ups, drop-offs, routing, ETAs, and overall trip reliability.
WHY THIS PILOT MATTERS
This initiative is more than a technical experiment, it’s a milestone for the region’s mobility and digital mapping ecosystem. And it sends a powerful message to innovators everywhere: precision drives progress.
Accuracy transforms the user experience.
In cities where GPS often drifts by 20 meters or more, even finding the right car park entrance can be a struggle. Grab’s new system cuts through that challenge, creating smoother, faster, and more predictable journeys.
Partnerships unlock real-world innovation.
The collaboration with OPPO, Qualcomm, and Swift Navigation shows how combining hardware, chipsets, and correction services can deliver capabilities once reserved for autonomous vehicles or high-end surveying equipment.
Scalability comes from ecosystem thinking.
Grab’s plan to extend high-accuracy GPS to its Karta devices and expand mapping of complex spaces with LiDAR and KartaCam technology reflects the readiness to scale—beyond the pilot, beyond Singapore, and across the region.
And most importantly, this development arrives at a moment when Southeast Asian cities are aiming for smarter, safer, and greener transport systems. With millions depending on location-based services daily, improved accuracy can ripple across ride-hailing, deliveries, mapping, logistics, and urban planning.
A WIN FOR INNOVATION AND A GLIMPSE OF THE FUTURE
Grab’s journey from a mobility startup to a technology leader shaping the region’s digital infrastructure reflects what our community stands for: innovation that solves real-world challenges. This pilot is not just about better mapping but it demonstrates how data, hardware, and software can come together to transform everyday experiences.
It’s the kind of milestone that inspires founders across the GSA network and proof that when breakthrough technology meets purposeful collaboration, entire industries evolve.
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