New York, February 4, 2026, 12:59 EST — Regular session
- Grab shares slipped roughly 2% by midday, deepening their recent slide
- Appointed as the exclusive distributor for Hesai’s lidar sensors in Southeast Asia
- Traders are eyeing Grab’s February 11 earnings for clues on margins and fresh strategic moves
Shares of Grab Holdings Limited dropped Wednesday despite a new partnership linking the Southeast Asian ride-hailing and delivery company more closely with autonomous and mapping hardware.
The Nasdaq-listed stock dropped 2.3%, hitting $4.17 in early afternoon trading.
This move is key as investors look to distinguish “real revenue” from “nice narrative” around autonomy, robotics, and AI. Grab is also entering its quarterly results facing a battered U.S. tech sector.
The Hesai deal offers Grab a new foothold outside rides and food—this time in distributing sensors for robotics and autonomous systems—but investors are still waiting to see how that will translate into revenue.
Hesai Technology announced that Grab will be its exclusive distributor for lidar products throughout Southeast Asia, handling sales, customer support, and marketing in the region. Grab CEO and co-founder Anthony Tan described lidar as the “essential ‘eyes’” for robotics. Hesai CEO David Li highlighted growing demand from manufacturing, logistics, and service robot sectors. The companies did not reveal financial details. PR Newswire
Lidar — which stands for light detection and ranging — relies on light to gauge distance and create detailed maps of the environment. Investors often see it as a fundamental tool for autonomy, but its adoption tends to be uneven and pricing pressures remain a challenge.
The broader market environment was uneasy. The Nasdaq dipped as software and cloud stocks fell, shaken by concerns that swift AI progress might disrupt established business models—a trend that’s been weighing on growth stocks for several days.
Sentiment around ride-hailing took a hit. Uber dropped roughly 3.5% following a forecast that its first-quarter adjusted profit would miss estimates and a warning about rising taxes. Still, the company is moving forward with its robotaxi ambitions, Reuters reported.
Hesai shares edged up roughly 0.4%, showing little movement.
Grab’s stock has fallen for two straight sessions, slipping roughly 3.2% on Tuesday. Trading volume has picked up noticeably in the past few days.
Next on the calendar is earnings. Grab will release its fourth-quarter and full-year 2025 results after U.S. markets close on Feb. 11, followed by a management call the next morning in Singapore.
But the lidar deal carries a common caveat: distribution partnerships often take a while to translate into revenue, and hardware-focused operations pose distinct margin and working-capital challenges compared to app-based services. A sluggish growth-stock market can drown out even positive company news.
