AI in Grab: Airlangga Says Ride-Hailing BHR Could Double

Jakarta, CNBC Indonesia - Coordinating Minister for the Economy Airlangga Hartarto made a statement regarding the utilisation of artificial intelligence (AI) by Grab while discussing the distribution of Hari Raya Bonuses (BHR). In his remarks, Airlangga expressed hope that the distribution of BHR in the future could increase, even more than double, in line with the use of AI. Airlangga also appreciated Grab’s initiative in distributing Hari Raya Bonuses to partners during Idulfitri 2026. “Thank you, during Idul Fitri, Grab also distributed Hari Raya Bonuses. We want this to continue in the future. Now it’s only twice, so it needs to continue going forward. If this year the value is double, I think with AI the value could be more than double,” said Airlangga, with a joking tone about “AI in Grab”, during his speech at GrabX 2026 on Wednesday (8/4/2026). Not only mentioning AI, Airlangga also emphasised the importance of building data centres domestically. According to him, the need for local storage is crucial because around 40% of data must be hosted in the country where the service operates. “Beyond AI, data centres must be available locally because the requirement is that 40% must be hosted in the host country. So everything can be available very quickly,” he explained. He also assessed that Indonesia has strong competitiveness for data centre investments. Factors such as land prices, electricity, and water are considered more competitive compared to other countries in the region. “If you look around, land prices, electricity, water, can be compared with the countries where Grab operates, Indonesia is the most competitive. That’s what I can guarantee,” he concluded.