A business plan for a taxi booking app earned a second-place finish at the Harvard Business School New Venture Competition in 2011, providing the $25,000 seed money that Anthony Tan used to launch MyTeksi.
Early Business Interests and Academic Training
Tan grew up in a family deeply embedded in the automotive sector; his father, Tan Heng Chew, served as president of Tan Chong Motor, a company responsible for assembling and distributing Nissan vehicles in Southeast Asia. Early exposure to the assembly line and meetings with union leaders shaped his perspective. His entrepreneurial focus appeared early, characterized by retail trading of comics at age 11 and charity fundraising at age 14. He completed his undergraduate studies in economics and public policy at the University of Chicago and subsequently earned a Master of Business Administration from Harvard Business School.
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Take the IQ test →Founding MyTeksi and the Pivot to Grab
Before founding his own venture, Tan worked within the Tan Chong Group, overseeing supply chain and marketing for its automotive brands. He opted to move away from the family conglomerate after a Harvard classmate complained about the poor quality of the taxi system in Malaysia. Partnering with Tan Hooi Ling, he developed a mobile platform intended to improve taxi safety and reliability. In June 2012, they launched MyTeksi in the Malaysian capital. By 2016, following capital injection from the state-owned firm Temasek Holdings, the venture rebranded as Grab and relocated its headquarters to Singapore.
Expansion and Public Scrutiny
As the company grew, Tan secured Singaporean citizenship in 2016. His professional profile expanded to include roles such as a speaker at the 2019 World Economic Forum and a founding member of the AI for Good Global Commission, a group dedicated to reducing inequality through technology. By 2021, Forbes estimated his net worth at $790 million. The company faced significant challenges in late 2023 when a resurfaced Instagram post by his wife, Chloe Tong, regarding a 2023 family trip to Israel sparked organized boycotts across Malaysia and Indonesia amidst the ongoing Gaza war.
Fast facts
- Born: 1982, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
- Citizenship: Singapore
- Notable Venture: Grab
- Education: University of Chicago; Harvard Business School
- Net Worth Estimate: $790 million (2021)
- Award: Gen.T (Malaysia) 2017, 2018
- Award: Asia's Most Influential Malaysia (2021)
- Award: Asia's Most Influential Singapore (2021, 2022)
Questions readers ask
What was the initial funding for Grab?
The launch of MyTeksi in 2012 was funded by $25,000 in competition prize money, personal funds, and investment from Tan's mother.
What is Anthony Tan's professional background?
He worked as a businessperson and CEO, having served in supply chain and marketing roles at the Tan Chong Group before co-founding Grab.
