How Grab’s CTO sees the superapp’s push into physical AI and automated driving—and why he uses his competitors’ robots in the office

Robots could become as important to Grab’s future as its human drivers. On May 20, Grab announced that one of its robots, named Carri, will start deliveries in Singapore’s Punggol district, the city-state’s hub for testing robotic services. But Carri has already been plying the corridors of Grab’s Singapore headquarters, says chief technology officer Suthen Paradatheth. And Carri’s not alone. “We don’t oblige our business units to just use our robots,” Paradatheth told Fortune during an interview on the sidelines of the Asia Tech (ATx) summit. “If you go to the Grab office now, you’ll see robots from other companies as well. We use a 1+n strategy which keeps us on our toes.” Paradatheth has been involved with Grab from almost the very beginning, before the company even got its name. He joined the firm, then a Malaysia-based ride-hailing outfit called MyTeksi, as a part-time consultant after a mutual friend introduced him to its founders, Anthony Tan and Tan Hooi Ling. “Our mission was to make taxis safer in Kuala Lumpur,” Paradatheth explained. “Ling told me a story of starting a call with her mom whenever she rode home at night; even if they didn’t speak, it was a way to make sure the driver knew she was being monitored by someone.” The anecdote hit home for Paradatheth, whose own sister had similarly recounted feeling unsafe while riding taxis. “I saw a very real problem to get involved in,” he said. Paradatheth joined full-time in 2015 and followed the company to Singapore, where it rebranded to Grab. He then moved through roles including chief of staff and head of engineering for research and development, before being appointed as CTO in 2022. “A lot of folks have grown with the company, just like me,” he said. “Many of the senior leaders in the company are people who were with me during the 2012 storeroom days; they came as interns and are now heads of engineering.” Building a Southeast Asian tech empire Grab, No. 128 on Fortune’s Southeast As