OpenAI and Grab announced the GO Forward with AI programme on 23 September 2026, a two-year initiative to equip 30,000 driver-, delivery-, and merchant-partners across Southeast Asia with practical AI skills. The programme launches first in Singapore and will expand to Thailand, Indonesia, and the Philippines later this year, followed by Malaysia and Vietnam in 2027.
The collaboration builds on an existing partnership that began in May 2024 with the Driver AI Assistant, an in-app tool powered by OpenAI models that helps drivers find demand, optimise earnings, and resolve daily questions. That assistant has reached close to 500,000 drivers. GO Forward with AI extends the relationship by providing hands-on, half-day workshops based on the OpenAI Academy curriculum, adapted for local needs in each market.
What the programme covers
Workshops are designed around the real decisions partners face. Drivers and delivery partners learn to use ChatGPT to explore business ideas, sharpen value propositions, test pricing approaches, and create simple marketing materials and action plans. Merchant-partners focus on analysing point-of-sale data, identifying trends, shaping revenue and promotional strategies, and building AI-powered workflows for menu engineering, demand forecasting, inventory planning, and waste reduction.
Participants also receive three months of complimentary access to ChatGPT Plus, which includes ChatGPT Work — OpenAI's agentic capability for delegating multi-step tasks such as creating business expansion plans, turning sales data into interactive dashboards, building simple websites, and setting up repeatable workflows for inventory management and other operations.
Train-the-trainer model for scale
To extend reach beyond the initial workshops, OpenAI and Grab will train GrabAcademy trainers so they can deliver the programme more widely over time. The first session in Singapore on 23 September was attended by 50 female drivers and delivery riders, taught by an OpenAI solutions engineer. Participants used voice-to-text functions in multiple languages and built functional websites and product mock-ups from rough drawings during the session.
Regional context and government alignment
The launch aligns with Singapore's broader push to train workers in cloud and AI skills. Minister of State for Manpower and Trade and Industry Foo Cexiang attended the event and emphasised that AI must support workers from all walks of life, not only technology experts. Grab's Chief Organisational Capability Officer Ong Chin Yin noted the programme connects to government efforts to help workers upskill and support companies in redesigning jobs amid AI-driven disruption.
Why it matters
Platform workers and small merchants often lack the analytical resources of larger enterprises. By combining Grab's regional partner network with OpenAI's models and curriculum, the programme aims to lower the barrier to entry for AI-assisted entrepreneurship and business decision-making across six Southeast Asian markets. The train-the-trainer approach and phased country rollout suggest a focus on sustainable local delivery rather than a one-off event series.
Our take
The partnership is notable for targeting a workforce segment — gig drivers and micro-merchants — that is typically underserved by enterprise AI training. Success will depend on whether the half-day format and three-month ChatGPT Plus window translate into sustained skill retention and measurable income impact after the complimentary period ends.
