Grab Acquires Chinese AI Robotics Firm Infermove to Strengthen Last-Mile Delivery Capabilities
- Written by Media Outreach
Founded in early 2021 by Aaron Lu in a Santa Clara garage in California, Infermove later established offices in Beijing and Suzhou, China, focusing on research and development (R&D) as well as manufacturing. As a startup specializing in autonomous driving systems for unstructured environments and mobile manipulation robots, its product portfolio includes sidewalk delivery robots with upper-limb manipulation capabilities and personal mobility robots.
Leveraging driving data from non-motorized vehicles such as delivery riders' electric scooters, Infermove is training mobile robots capable of adapting to complex real-world physical environments. Through imitation learning, reinforcement learning technologies, and self-developed end-to-end algorithms, the company enables robots to exhibit human-like operational capabilities in intricate last-mile delivery scenarios. Its proprietary "Rider Shadow System" allows crowdsourced collection of robot training data using last-mile mobility devices like electric wheelchairs and riders' electric scooters, addressing the industry-wide challenges of slow, costly data acquisition and over-reliance on simulated or demonstration data in embodied intelligence.
Founder Aaron Lu was recently named to the "2025 Forbes 100 Most Influential Chinese Elites" list, reflecting international recognition of his technological innovation and business leadership. Some earlier reports mentioned Lu holds multiple advanced degrees in biomedical engineering, economics, and computer science from Harvard and other top U.S. universities.
Prior to founding Infermove, Lu led the fully autonomous driving program at Silicon Valley-based AutoX (now renamed to Tesor Auto), overseeing the R&D, validation, and regulatory approval of the company's first fully autonomous robotaxi product. In July 2020, he led the team to successfully develop the second ever L4-level autonomous taxi approved for fully driverless operation on public roads in California, U.S., second only to Alphabet's Waymo.
Public records show that prior to the acquisition, Infermove had secured at least 3.3 million in funding from investors including Miracle Plus,the former China division of Y Combinator.
In 2024, the company signed an investment agreement with a subsidiary of listed firm Tieda Technology, valuing the company at approximately 33 million at the time. Multiple investors focusing on China's embodied intelligence sector indicated that before the acquisition, Infermove was conducting a new round of financing with a valuation of no less than $50 million.
Despite its relatively short operational history, Infermove has achieved rapid progress in commercialization. Currently, its Carri series robots have partnered with major delivery platforms in China, including Meituan, Ele.me of Alibaba, Sam's Club, and Dada of JD.com. Simultaneously, the company has established pilot projects with local corporate clients in overseas markets such as Singapore, Japan, and Australia. According to financial and outstanding order information disclosed by listed-Tieda Technology during its investment in Infermove, the company's revenue surged from only RMB 100,000 in 2023 to RMB 10 million in 2025, achieving a 100-fold growth in three years. With over 1,000 outstanding orders pending delivery, Infermove expects its revenue to exceed RMB 200 million in 2026.
A source from Grab's Beijing office revealed that Suthen Thomas, Grab's CTO, announced the acquisition of Infermove to the entire company during the global All Hands meeting in December. During the meeting, Suthen showcased several of Infermove's latest robot products, stating that the company's technology and commercialization progress in embodied delivery robots were impressive. He added that following the completion of the acquisition, Infermove will continue to operate as an independent entity under its original team, with Lu, as the key founder, reporting directly to him.
This acquisition represents a crucial step in Grab's efforts to advance automation within its expanding delivery and mobility network in Southeast Asia and beyond. Amid rising labor costs and sustained growth in on-demand delivery demand, robotics technology and artificial intelligence have become key drivers for enhancing service reliability and maintaining profit margins.
Industry analysts note that the global last-mile delivery robotics market is experiencing rapid growth, with an expected market size exceeding $20 billion by 2027. Faced with the dual pressures of cost reduction and service expansion, AI-driven automation technology has emerged as a critical competitive differentiator for delivery platforms— a key factor that led Grab to pursue Infermove.
As a leading mobility and delivery provider in Southeast Asia, Grab went public through a SPAC merger in December 2021 and is currently traded on the Nasdaq with a market capitalization of approximately $20 billion. The company has consistently invested in technological upgrades to optimize its food delivery, ride-hailing, and financial services. Previously, in response to inquiries from Bloomberg, Grab stated that Infermove's solutions will effectively complement its delivery network capabilities, and the investment will further drive Infermove's continued growth.
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