Momenta and Grab will explore introducing Momenta’s autonomous driving technology into Southeast Asian markets.
On December 18, Chinese autonomous driving company Momenta announced that it has entered into a strategic partnership with Southeast Asian ride-hailing and lifestyle services platform Grab and secured a strategic investment from the company.
The two sides will collaborate closely in Southeast Asia to accelerate the real-world deployment of autonomous driving technologies in dense and complex traffic environments, while exploring commercialization pathways tailored to urban mobility scenarios.
Grab is one of Southeast Asia’s most influential super apps, spanning ride-hailing, delivery and local services.
In August, Grab increased its investment in another Chinese autonomous driving company, WeRide, by tens of millions of U.S. dollars, and has been working to integrate Robotaxi services into its established operational network.
In recent years, Momenta has adhered to what it describes as a “one flywheel, two legs” technology strategy, centered on data-driven development through the parallel evolution of L2 driver assistance and L4 autonomous driving.
On one front, Momenta has partnered with multiple global automakers, including Mercedes-Benz, BMW, and Audi, deploying its flywheel-based large-model driver assistance systems in mass-production vehicles to continuously accumulate real-world driving data.
In parallel, the company has advanced its Robotaxi technology and is steadily moving toward a new phase of commercial fleet operations.
This approach is reflected in its recent collaboration with Mercedes-Benz and UAE mobility operator Lumo, where an L4 Robotaxi based on the new-generation Mercedes-Benz S-Class has already been deployed in Abu Dhabi.
Unlike many Robotaxi solutions, Momenta has chosen to base its L4 systems on production vehicles.
Its L2 and L4 offerings share a unified software algorithm framework and sensor configuration, allowing L4 autonomous driving capabilities to be directly integrated into mass-produced vehicles and avoiding the high costs associated with post-production retrofitting.
Against this backdrop, the partnership with Grab will explore introducing Momenta’s autonomous driving technology into Southeast Asian markets.
Both parties have emphasized safety as a core principle, committing to a gradual rollout under local regulatory, road and operational constraints to assess viable urban mobility use cases.
In addition, Momenta formed a strategic partnership in May with Uber, the world’s largest mobility services platform, with plans to launch autonomous driving operations in Munich, Germany, in 2026.
In China, Momenta’s Robotaxi services are already open for public trials in Shanghai. The first batch of fully driverless Robotaxi fleets is expected to enter pilot operations by the end of this year.
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