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.scotchtober-recirc { display: flex; gap: 20px; justify-content: center; margin-top: clamp(35px,5vw,50px); margin-bottom: clamp(35px,5vw,50px); font-weight: 500; font-family: var(--font-centra); color: #5f5f5f; font-size: 13px; line-height: 14px; letter-spacing: 1.4px; text-transform: uppercase; flex-wrap: nowrap; } @media (max-width: 600px) { .scotchtober-recirc { flex-wrap: wrap; } } /* Stronger selector to override other styles */ .scotchtober-recirc a { white-space: nowrap; border-bottom: 5px solid transparent !important; font-weight: 500 !important; color: #5f5f5f !important; cursor: pointer; text-decoration: none !important; } .scotchtober-recirc a:hover, .scotchtober-recirc a:focus { color: black !important; border-bottom-color: black !important; text-decoration: none !important; } .scotchtober-recirc .emphasize { border-bottom: 5px solid black !important; color: black !important; text-decoration: none !important; } Scotchtober Chicago Dallas-Fort Worth L.A. County Miami New York {"blockType":"immersive-block-embed","data":{"embedSource":"\n\n\n\n #map-frame {\n border: 0;\n width: 100%;\n height: 400px;\n }\n @media only screen and (max-width: 650px) {\n #map-frame {\n height: 900px;\n max-height: 80vh;\n }\n }\n","embedImageDesktop":"","embedImageDesktopCaption":"","embedImageMobile":"","embedImageMobileCaption":"","backgroundColor":"#000000","paddingTop":40,"paddingBottom":40,"paddingLeft":100,"paddingRight":100,"mediaType":"ceros"}} New Yorks best bar for . . . {"blockType":"immersive-block-embed","data":{"embedSource":"","embedImageDesktop":"https:\/\/images.fastcompany.com\/image\/upload\/f_webp,q_auto,c_fit\/wp-cms-2\/2025\/08\/CharliePalmer_0725_LizClayman_0136_985e9e.jpg","embedImageDesktopCaption":"Charlie Palmer Steak IV at the Knickerbocker Hotel","embedImageMobile":"https:\/\/images.fastcompany.com\/image\/upload\/f_webp,q_auto,c_fit\/wp-cms-2\/2025\/08\/CharliePalmer_0725_LizClayman_0136_985e9e.jpg","embedImageMobileCaption":"","backgroundColor":"","paddingTop":0,"paddingBottom":0,"paddingLeft":100,"paddingRight":100,"mediaType":"image"}} Professional networking /* Byline */ [aria-label="post byline label"] { display: none !important; } /* Fixed text at bottom of article */ .content-chunk > em > p { display: none !important; } /* Mobile injection player */ .fixed.bottom-\[82px\] { display: none !important; } /* Hides gray placeholder box */ .my-\[30px\].bg-\[\#f5f5f5\].py-8 { display: none !important; } Charlie Palmer Steak IV at the Knickerbocker Hotel The birthplace of the dry martini (1907) is a longtime go-to for rubbing elbows with corporate regulars. The bars glowing, wavy-glass display of top-shelf spirits is all business. Or choose a spot at a highboy or cadet blue corduroy settee to talk trade in this calming, legendary room. [data-testid="newsletter-subscription-form"] { display: none !important; } {"blockType":"immersive-block-embed","data":{"embedSource":"","embedImageDesktop":"https:\/\/images.fastcompany.com\/image\/upload\/f_webp,q_auto,c_fit\/wp-cms-2\/2025\/08\/NY_Charlie-Palmer_Glenmark_DT.jpg","embedImageDesktopCaption":"","embedImageMobile":"https:\/\/images.fastcompany.com\/image\/upload\/f_webp,q_auto,c_fit\/wp-cms-2\/2025\/08\/NY_Charlie-Palmer_Glenmark_MB.jpg","embedImageMobileCaption":"","backgroundColor":"","paddingTop":0,"paddingBottom":0,"paddingLeft":360,"paddingRight":360,"mediaType":"image"}} {"blockType":"immersive-block-embed","data":{"embedSource":"","embedImageDesktop":"https:\/\/images.fastcompany.com\/image\/upload\/f_webp,q_auto,c_fit\/wp-cms-2\/2025\/08\/Iris_0725_LizClayman_0104_9b3c80.jpg","embedImageDesktopCaption":"Iris","embedImageMobile":"https:\/\/images.fastcompany.com\/image\/upload\/f_webp,q_auto,c_fit\/wp-cms-2\/2025\/08\/Iris_0725_LizClayman_0104_9b3c80.jpg","embedImageMobileCaption":"","backgroundColor":"","paddingTop":0,"paddingBottom":0,"paddingLeft":100,"paddingRight":100,"mediaType":"image"}} A team happy hour Iris The sleek, blonde-wood bar is topped by silver-domed task lamps, helpful for studying the innovative menu of Aegean-themed booze and bites, like the mezze plate or Ouzo mussels. It anchors an expansive dining room with clean lines and a roomy lounge area with comfy gray couches perfect for after-hours mingling. {"blockType":"immersive-block-embed","data":{"embedSource":"","embedImageDesktop":"https:\/\/images.fastcompany.com\/image\/upload\/f_webp,q_auto,c_fit\/wp-cms-2\/2025\/08\/NY_Iris_Rob-Roy_DT.jpg","embedImageDesktopCaption":"","embedImageMobile":"https:\/\/images.fastcompany.com\/image\/upload\/f_webp,q_auto,c_fit\/wp-cms-2\/2025\/08\/NY_Iris_Rob-Roy_MB.jpg","embedImageMobileCaption":"","backgroundColor":"","paddingTop":0,"paddingBottom":0,"paddingLeft":360,"paddingRight":360,"mediaType":"image"}} {"blockType":"immersive-block-embed","data":{"embedSource":"","embedImageDesktop":"https:\/\/images.fastcompany.com\/image\/upload\/f_webp,q_auto,c_fit\/wp-cms-2\/2025\/08\/Perrine_PierreHotel_0725_LizClayman_0092_56962a.jpg","embedImageDesktopCaption":"Perrine at the Pierre Hotel","embedImageMobile":"https:\/\/images.fastcompany.com\/image\/upload\/f_webp,q_auto,c_fit\/wp-cms-2\/2025\/08\/Perrine_PierreHotel_0725_LizClayman_0092_56962a.jpg","embedImageMobileCaption":"","backgroundColor":"","paddingTop":0,"paddingBottom":0,"paddingLeft":100,"paddingRight":100,"mediaType":"image"}} Local flavor Perrine at the Pierre Hotel Slipping into a cushioned barstool at the black marble bar, which glows under silver-hooded lamps, feels like returning to the Pierres 1930s origins. The space, just steps from Central Park, is all class and calm. As you imbibe alongside locals and hotel guests,watching yellow taxis whiz down Fifth Avenue, youll complete a dreamy, classic NYC tableau. {"blockType":"immersive-block-embed","data":{"embedSource":"","embedImageDesktop":"https:\/\/images.fastcompany.com\/image\/upload\/f_webp,q_auto,c_fit\/wp-cms-2\/2025\/08\/NY_Perrine_247-Espresso-Martini_DT.jpg","embedImageDesktopCaption":"","embedImageMobile":"https:\/\/images.fastcompany.com\/image\/upload\/f_webp,q_auto,c_fit\/wp-cms-2\/2025\/08\/NY_Perrine_247-Espresso-Martini__MB.jpg","embedImageMobileCaption":"","backgroundColor":"","paddingTop":0,"paddingBottom":0,"paddingLeft":360,"paddingRight":360,"mediaType":"image"}} {"blockType":"immersive-block-embed","data":{"embedSource":"","embedImageDesktop":"https:\/\/images.fastcompany.com\/image\/upload\/f_webp,q_auto,c_fit\/wp-cms-2\/2025\/08\/Nubeluz_Scotchtober_Nubeluz_0725_LizClayman_0367.jpg","embedImageDesktopCaption":"Nubeluz at the Ritz-Carlton NoMad","embedImageMobile":"https:\/\/images.fastcompany.com\/image\/upload\/f_webp,q_auto,c_fit\/wp-cms-2\/2025\/08\/Nubeluz_Scotchtober_Nubeluz_0725_LizClayman_0367.jpg","embedImageMobileCaption":"","backgroundColor":"","paddingTop":0,"paddingBottom":0,"paddingLeft":100,"paddingRight":100,"mediaType":"image"}} Showing off stellar views to a client Nubeluz at the Ritz Carlton NoMad Theres plenty to wow you at this 50th-floor gemsumptuous banquettes, unique craft cocktails, and a sophisticated clientele. But the killer views, in almost all directions through floor-to-ceiling windows, are the standout. Snag a velvet settee on the west-facing terrace to watch the golden sunset over the Hudson River. {"blockType":"immersive-block-embed","data":{"embedSource":"","embedImageDesktop":"https:\/\/images.fastcompany.com\/image\/upload\/f_webp,q_auto,c_fit\/wp-cms-2\/2025\/08\/NY_Nubeluz_Frankie-Sees-the-World_DT-2.jpg","embedImageDesktopCaption":"","embedImageMobile":"https:\/\/images.fastcompany.com\/image\/upload\/f_webp,q_auto,c_fit\/wp-cms-2\/2025\/08\/NY_Nubeluz_Frankie-Sees-the-World_MB.jpg","embedImageMobileCaption":"","backgroundColor":"","paddingTop":0,"paddingBottom":0,"paddingLeft":360,"paddingRight":360,"mediaType":"image"}} {"blockType":"immersive-block-embed","data":{"embedSource":"","embedImageDesktop":"https:\/\/images.fastcompany.com\/image\/upload\/f_webp,q_auto,c_fit\/wp-cms-2\/2025\/08\/Terrace_EDITIONHotel_0725_LizClayman_15_ee0128.jpg","embedImageDesktopCaption":"The Terrace at the Times Square Edition Hotel","embedImageMobile":"https:\/\/images.fastcompany.com\/image\/upload\/f_webp,q_auto,c_fit\/wp-cms-2\/2025\/08\/Terrace_EDITIONHotel_0725_LizClayman_15_ee0128.jpg","embedImageMobileCaption":"","backgroundColor":"","paddingTop":0,"paddingBottom":0,"paddingLeft":100,"paddingRight":100,"mediaType":"image"}} Celebrating a company win The Terrace at the Times Square Edition Hotel This glamorous refuge offers several sanctums to toast your teams success: the white-walled main bar with red velvet barstools and ornate spirit decanters displayed like art; the inner garden, under a canopy of hanging plants and colored lanterns; and the coveted outdoor terrace, where potted boxwoods, birch trees, and evergreens shelter you from Times Square. {"blockType":"immersive-block-embed","data":{"embedSource":"","embedImageDesktop":"https:\/\/images.fastcompany.com\/image\/upload\/f_webp,q_auto,c_fit\/wp-cms-2\/2025\/08\/NY_The-Terrace_Single-malt-Scotch-whisky-flight_DT.jpg","embedImageDesktopCaption":"","embedImageMobile":"https:\/\/images.fastcompany.com\/image\/upload\/f_webp,q_auto,c_fit\/wp-cms-2\/2025\/08\/NY_The-Terrace_Single-malt-Scotch-whisky-flight_MB.jpg","embedImageMobileCaption":"","backgroundColor":"","paddingTop":0,"paddingBottom":0,"paddingLeft":360,"paddingRight":360,"mediaType":"image"}} {"blockType":"immersive-block-embed","data":{"embedSource":"","embedImageDesktop":"https:\/\/images.fastcompany.com\/image\/upload\/f_webp,q_auto,c_fit\/wp-cms-2\/2025\/08\/ClementeBar_0825_LizClayman_0313_3dfe7d.jpg","embedImageDesktopCaption":"Clemente Bar at Eleven Madison Park","embedImageMobile":"https:\/\/images.fastcompany.com\/image\/upload\/f_webp,q_auto,c_fit\/wp-cms-2\/2025\/08\/ClementeBar_0825_LizClayman_0313_3dfe7d.jpg","embedImageMobileCaption":"","backgroundColor":"","paddingTop":0,"paddingBottom":0,"paddingLeft":100,"paddingRight":100,"mediaType":"image"}} Getting inspired Clemente Bar at Eleven Madison Park One flight up from the fine dining destination is this cheekier low-lit retreat, an homage to Italian painter Francesco Clemente, whose paintings hang on the walls. As you sip cocktails infused with green curry and acidified papaya, the artwork and whimsical mushroom lamps by Carsten Höller will get your creative juices flowing. {"blockType":"immersive-block-embed","data":{"embedSource":"","embedImageDesktop":"https:\/\/images.fastcompany.com\/image\/upload\/f_webp,q_auto,c_fit\/wp-cms-2\/2025\/08\/NY_Clemente_Against-the-Grain_DT.jpg","embedImageDesktopCaption":"","embedImageMobile":"https:\/\/images.fastcompany.com\/image\/upload\/f_webp,q_auto,c_fit\/wp-cms-2\/2025\/08\/NY_Clemente_Against-the-Grain_MB.jpg","embedImageMobileCaption":"","backgroundColor":"","paddingTop":0,"paddingBottom":0,"paddingLeft":360,"paddingRight":360,"mediaType":"image"}} {"blockType":"immersive-block-embed","data":{"embedSource":"","embedImageDesktop":"https:\/\/images.fastcompany.com\/image\/upload\/f_webp,q_auto,c_fit\/wp-cms-2\/2025\/08\/Bar_Calico_0725_LizClayman_0274_161174.jpg","embedImageDesktopCaption":"Bar Calico in the Freehand Hotel","embedImageMobile":"https:\/\/images.fastcompany.com\/image\/upload\/f_webp,q_auto,c_fit\/wp-cms-2\/2025\/08\/Bar_Calico_0725_LizClayman_0274_161174.jpg","embedImageMobileCaption":"","backgroundColor":"","paddingTop":0,"paddingBottom":0,"paddingLeft":100,"paddingRight":100,"mediaType":"image"}} IYKYK experiences Bar Calico at the Freehand Hotel This cozy ochre-lit hideaway tucked above the hotels lobby is an homage to 1920s neighbor Georgia OKeeffe. The Southwest vibestribal motif rugs, steer skull on the wallare on point. And the cocktails are delectable and clever, like the Muse, served with half a passionfruit to slurp between sips. {"blockType":"immersive-block-embed","data":{"embedSource":"","embedImageDesktop":"https:\/\/images.fastcompany.com\/image\/upload\/f_webp,qauto,c_fit\/wp-cms-2\/2025\/08\/NY_Bar-Calico_The-Muse_DT_v2.jpg","embedImageDesktopCaption":"","embedImageMobile":"https:\/\/images.fastcompany.com\/image\/upload\/f_webp,q_auto,c_fit\/wp-cms-2\/2025\/08\/NY_Bar-Calico_The-Muse_MB_v2.jpg","embedImageMobileCaption":"","backgroundColor":"","paddingTop":0,"paddingBottom":0,"paddingLeft":360,"paddingRight":360,"mediaType":"image"}} {"blockType":"immersive-block-embed","data":{"embedSource":"","embedImageDesktop":"https:\/\/images.fastcompany.com\/image\/upload\/f_webp,q_auto,c_fit\/wp-cms-2\/2025\/08\/PenTop_0725_LizClayman_50739-1-1.jpg","embedImageDesktopCaption":"Pen Top at the Peninsula Hotel","embedImageMobile":"https:\/\/images.fastcompany.com\/image\/upload\/f_webp,q_auto,c_fit\/wp-cms-2\/2025\/08\/PenTop_0725_LizClayman_50739-1-1.jpg","embedImageMobileCaption":"","backgroundColor":"","paddingTop":0,"paddingBottom":0,"paddingLeft":100,"paddingRight":100,"mediaType":"image"}} A nightcap after a business event Pen Top at the Peninsula Hotel Crown your evening in this rooftop oasis, where a small, glass-enclosed bar area emanates airy greenhouse vibes. An outdoor patio has potted plants, cream banquettes (some reserved for groups), tables for bottle service, a louvred rooftop that snaps shut when it rains, and views of architectural gems, from the Beaux-Art St. Regis to Billionaires Row skyscrapers. {"blockType":"immersive-block-embed","data":{"embedSource":"","embedImageDesktop":"https:\/\/images.fastcompany.com\/image\/upload\/f_webp,q_auto,c_fit\/wp-cms-2\/2025\/08\/NY_PenTop_Doctors-Orders_DT.jpg","embedImageDesktopCaption":"","embedImageMobile":"https:\/\/images.fastcompany.com\/image\/upload\/f_webp,q_auto,c_fit\/wp-cms-2\/2025\/08\/NY_PenTop_Doctors-Orders__MB.jpg","embedImageMobileCaption":"","backgroundColor":"","paddingTop":0,"paddingBottom":0,"paddingLeft":360,"paddingRight":360,"mediaType":"image"}} Photography by Liz Clayman .scotchtober-recirc { display: flex; gap: 20px; justify-content: center; margin-top: clamp(35px,5vw,50px); margin-bottom: clamp(35px,5vw,50px); font-weight: 500; font-family: var(--font-centra); color: #5f5f5f; font-size: 13px; line-height: 14px; letter-spacing: 1.4px; text-transform: uppercase; flex-wrap: nowrap; } @media (max-width: 600px) { .scotchtober-recirc { flex-wrap: wrap; } } /* Stronger selector to override other styles */ .scotchtober-recirc a { white-space: nowrap; border-bottom: 5px solid transparent !important; font-weight: 500 !important; color: #5f5f5f !important; cursor: pointer; text-decoration: none !important; } .scotchtober-recirc a:hover, .scotchtober-recirc a:focus { color: black !important; border-bottom-color: black !important; text-decoration: none !important; } .scotchtober-recirc .emphasize { border-bottom: 5px solid black !important; color: black !important; text-decoration: none !important; } Scotchtober Chicago Dallas-Fort Worth L.A. County Miami New York
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E-Commerce
U.S. President Donald Trump is set to imminently ask the conservative-majority Supreme Court to validate his broad emergency tariffs after two setbacks at lower courts, but will face tough legal questions as his administration presses ahead with backup plans. Legal and trade experts said that the Supreme Court’s 6-3 majority of Republican-appointed justices may slightly improve Trump’s odds of keeping in place his “reciprocal” and fentanyl-related tariffs after a federal appeals court ruled 7-4 last week that they are illegal. Trump said on Tuesday that his administration would seek as early as Wednesday an expedited ruling by the Supreme Court “because we need an early decision.” He warned of “devastation” if the duties he imposed under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) are struck down. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit agreed on Friday with a lower court in finding that IEEPA does not grant the president unlimited authority to impose tariffs and the 1977 statute does not mention the term among regulatory powers it allows in a national emergency. The ruling marked a rare setback for Trump, who has sought to re-order the global economy in the U.S.’s favor with tariffs by declaring a national emergency over decades of trade deficits. Trump won a string of Supreme Court victories since returning to office, from allowing deportation of migrants to permitting a ban on transgender people in the military. Top administration officials, including Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, say they expect the Supreme Court to uphold the use of IEEPA to justify tariffs, but will turn to other legal means if needed. The tariffs will remain in place at least through October 14 to allow time for the government to file the Supreme Court appeal. MAJOR QUESTIONS DOCTRINE Trump’s Department of Justice has argued that the law allows tariffs under emergency provisions that authorize a president to “regulate” imports or block them completely. How far that unwritten regulatory authority goes is the biggest challenge for Trump’s appeal, and two losses have led some legal scholars to predict that the Court of International Trade’s original ruling against the tariffs will ultimately be upheld. “I have a really hard time believing that the Supreme Court is going to read IEEPA in such a broad way that the President can write and rewrite the tariff code in any way he wishes, on any particular day for any particular reason,” said John Veroneau, a former Republican-appointed deputy U.S. Trade Representative and partner at Covington and Burling. Veroneau said that the case will test the Supreme Court’s “major questions doctrine”, which holds that if Congress wants to give an executive agency the power to make decisions of “vast economic and political significance,” it must do so explicitly. The doctrine was used against former President Joe Biden in 2023 when the Supreme Court ruled 6-3 that he overstepped his authority by moving to cancel up to $400 billion in student loans – an order that the court said had a “staggering” scope of impact. A key question is whether the court will apply the same standard to Trump’s tariffs. Comparing these to the impact of the student loan cancellations, the appeals court said in its decision that “the overall economic impact of the tariffs imposed under the governments reading of IEEPA is even larger still.” SPLIT DECISION Balancing this will be the Supreme Court’s traditional deference to the president on matters of foreign affairs and national emergencies, an issue where the 6-3 conservative majority may come into play. Six of the seven appeals court judges voting against the IEEPA tariffs were appointed by Democratic presidents, but there were crossover votes among both parties’ appointees. “Given the Federal Circuits majority opinion and the dissent were quite robust, the Supreme Court will likely address the meat of whether IEEPA allows the administration to impose tariffs,” said Ryan Majerus, a former senior Commerce Department official and a partner with King and Spalding. “That decision, either way, will have significant implications for where the administration’s trade policy goes next,” Majerus said. The Trump administration has already been expanding tariff investigations under other legal authorities, including the national security-focused Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962 under which a probe into furniture imports has been launched. Bessent told Reuters that another option could be a provision of the Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act of 1930, which allows the president to impose tariffs of up to 50% on imports from countries that are found to discriminate against U.S. commerce. The statute, Section 338, has been largely dormant for decades but would allow for quick imposition of tariffs. If the IEEPA tariffs ultimately are struck down, trade lawyers said that a major headache for the Trump administration will be refunds of paid duties. Majerus said importers can lodge protests at the Customs and Border Protection agency to obtain refunds, but these efforts may end up in litigation. CBP reported that as of August 25, collections of Trump’s tariffs imposed under IEEPA totaled $65.8 billion. A source familiar with the Trump administration’s thinking said that lawyers sifted through the ruling over the Labor Day holiday weekend to gauge possible outcomes and expected a quick appeal to the Supreme Court, with a final decision likely in early 2026. David Lawder and Andrea Shalal, Reuters
Category:
E-Commerce
Grab is a rideshare service-turned superapp, not available in the U.S. but rapidly growing in Southeast Asia. Its even outmaneuvered global players like Uber to reach a valuation north of $20 billion. Grabs cofounder and CEO Anthony Tan shares how the platform has successfully expanded into food delivery and fintech, while also investing in the future of electric vehicles and autonomous driving. For any leader looking to bolster their company culture to meet the moment, Tan shares how his team set in motion an ambitious project to study and creatively implement AIchanneling both the hunger and humility to win in a competitive and chaotic market. This is an abridged transcript of an interview from Rapid Response, hosted by the former editor-in-chief of Fast Company, Bob Safian. From the team behind the Masters of Scale podcast, Rapid Response features candid conversations with todays top business leaders navigating real-time challenges. Subscribe to Rapid Response wherever you get your podcasts to ensure you never miss an episode. Grab started in 2012 as a rideshare platform. It’s since grown into Southeast Asia’s largest super app, providing food delivery and financial services, and more. The term “super app,” is this an increasingly popular concept? What does super app mean to you? Well, the super app just means an app that has multiple services. If you look at how it’s evolved here in Southeast Asia, we started just to solve Southeast Asian problems. For example, safety. Safety was a major issue. We wanted to make sure rides were safe for women and children. That was a real problem, and we solved that. We are now at 99.9% safety. And then we said, “Okay, what’s next?” We realized, “Wait, but to get drivers, you needed to lend them a phone.” How do you lend them a phone? Because many of them didn’t even have a smartphone. So we said we’ll start a financing business. So we have fintech built into the Grab app. It was just like one service after another. And then when we [looked at] payments, we said, “Hey, the driver became an ATM, mobile ATM, and it wasn’t safe for them.” So we said, “You know what? Let’s just take cash out of the system.” The drivers have a GrabPay wallet. The customer has a GrabPay wallet. So all this just helped build more and more services on one app. I was going to ask you about the fintech stuff, because obviously you’re providing a service, but also fintech tends to have better margins than rideshare and delivery, which are tough businesses. How much of the economics was part of the decision where like, “Oh, that’s a gap that is valuable for us to fill”? The key is two things: One, how do you create amazing data? And two, how do you create an amazing collection? It’s easier to lend money out. The issue is collecting it, right, Bob? So as more and more services are rolled out, every day services are rolled out, more and more data is gathered. As more and more data is gathered, that data has given us an advantage to lend, because we basically create a credit score across hundreds of distinct data points, but it’s that massive data advantage that allows us to price risk much better and to collect much better. You mentioned that Grab operates in multiple countries. I think eight different countries, if I’ve got it right. I’m not sure how many youre up to now. That’s right. For a lot of businesses that cross borders, 2025 has been a challenging year. I mean, you alluded to it, there’s been geopolitical tensions and economic trade war sparked by the Trump administration. How does all that impact Grab? Yeah, the geopolitical environment hasn’t been easy. The tariff war hasn’t been easy. When factories have to close down because of the tariffs or whatever shocks that are happening, we are able to cushion all this additional employment. Governments really appreciate it because they’re really concerned when unemployment shoots up. So they see that we’ve been able to drive not just more employment, but within 20 minutes, they can sign up to be a delivery partner, to be a driver. But as we got more supply, actually, prices came down. So if you look at our financials, interestingly, we have more supply, which means less search sessions, which means lower prices, which means more affordability, which means more customers. Yet at the same time, our earnings per online hour keeps going up. So our drivers earn more on a per-hour basis. So really, we are seeing a win-win-win as a counter cyclical platform across all our cities in the region. I saw that last summer you implemented a company pause for a couple of months to upskill your employees on AI, something you called cyber organization. Why was this necessary at that time? What did it look like? I think mindset change is tough, especially in an org of over 9,000 people. First, we had to really upskill folks, but shock the system. So we did a generative AI sprint. I spoke to everyone, whether you’re from engineering and data science, you’re an AI specialist, or you are someone just signing up merchants in a tier-three city in Vietnam. We said, “For nine weeks, folks, we’re going to focus on learning and experimenting.” The goal outcome was, every Grabber has to be a technologist regardless of what background you come from. Before we started the sprint, something like 80% of folks were worried that their jobs would be replaced. But interestingly, by the end of it, 80% were saying they understand generative AI so much better, and they can see how it’s helping their jobs. Total mindset shift. And that’s the beauty. It wasn’t just, “Hey, we just wanted to create a sprint for fun.” We built real generative AI solutions. For example, we created AI Merchant Assistant. Now that’s deployed across millions of long-tail merchants. We worked with the top R&D labs across the world like Anthropic. Yesterday I was just looking at, we use Claude 4, to think about how to make it so much more empathetic, so much more relevant for the merchants. So now it’s helping them not just boost their sales, helping them with photo edits, helping them position how they look on GrabFood, across the customers, how to pack. They even ask questions, Bob, like, “Oh, business isn’t good. Times are tough. Can you give me some encouragement, please?” And the Merchant Assistant talks in such an empathetic, such an encouraging way, a their personal best friend. So that’s the type of product that couldn’t have come out without this generative AI sprint. You mentioned that you’re working with Anthropic and Claude, but as I remember, you also worked with OpenAI. You were their first partner in Southeast Asia. Multiple partners is good. I mean, in some ways it would be easier to lean into one system, or not necessarily? Look, you want to find the best solutions for these real-world challenges. We want to partner the best, and we want to find the best models for specific tasks. When we first started at the early days, I remember we did a change, we did an update on the app. And then there were a bunch of really angry drivers and angry customers who came up to us, scolding us. And we were wondering why. A few of them were visually impaired, and because we did an update, and they couldn’t use the accessibility option. Today we’ve been able to work with OpenAI to create, using multimodal LLMs, on voice specifically, such that they can speak so easily into it, whether you’re totally blind or not, and really solve your problem. I know you must be thinking, “Hey, look, it’s not a big set of people who are visually impaired.” But you know what, Bob? It helps these individuals in such a real large-scale way, to them individually. As we think about just the visually impaired, we’re thinking about the elderly group, the silver generation. So again, we first started with a large impact for a small group of people. Now, with specialized training, it’s going to larger and larger groups, deployed to more and more geographical markets. There are scenarios we build on our own. There are scenarios we partner with the best, like OpenAI, like Anthropic. There are scenarios where we partner with the best universities around the world, but what we do believe is, generally, partnerships make us stronger.
Category:
E-Commerce
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