WeRide and Grab have rolled out public operations for their autonomously intelligent ride service in Singapore’s Punggol. Separately, Airwallex has announced that it has received approval from Bank Negara Malaysia for its e-money issuing and Class A licences.
Grab, WeRide officially launch driverless service
Global autonomous driving technology company WeRide and Southeast Asia’s superapp Grab have rolled out public operations for their autonomously intelligent ride (Ai.R) service in Punggol, marking Singapore’s first autonomous passenger service ever deployed within a residential estate.
In November last year, WeRide and Grab announced that Singapore’s Land Transport Authority (LTA) had granted them approval to conduct autonomous vehicle (AV) testing with the entire Ai.R fleet within the Punggol district.
Since January 2026, the service has been piloted by more than 1,000 passengers, including residents and community leaders, with feedback helping refine the user experience. The Ai.R fleet has so far logged over 30,000 km of autonomous driving without incident.
During the initial phase, safety operators will remain onboard to oversee journeys. Fourteen Grab driver-partners have completed specialised training with WeRide and GrabAcademy to be certified as safety operators, with additional cohorts currently undergoing training.
Airwallex secures key licences for full Malaysia launch
Global financial and payments platform Airwallex has announced that it has received approval from Bank Negara Malaysia for its e-money issuing and Class A licences.
With these licences, Airwallex will be able to provide a complete suite of payment services in Malaysia and strengthens its position as a fully regulated financial platform for businesses in Malaysia.
It will enable Airwallex to deliver comprehensive financial infrastructure—going beyond payments to support multi-currency accounts, FX, and complex business use cases within a single, unified platform.
Airwallex has also continued to invest in its local presence, growing its Malaysia team by 66% in 2025 and recently expanding into a new office space with capacity for over 160 employees. In addition, Airwallex Malaysia plans to double its headcount throughout 2026.
In December last year, Airwallex announced raising $330 million in a Series G funding round that values the company at $8 billion.
