Google Cloud has entered a five-year agreement with airasia Super App, based in Southeast Asia to help promote digital growth in the region.
"Five years ago, when I decided to move our digital journey to its next stage, I was looking for a partner to help us reach that nirvana, much like how Airbus and General Electric helped us grow from a little two-plane operation to become the fourth largest airline in Asia,” CEO of Capital A, Tony Fernandes, said in an April 7 press release. “I went around the U.S. looking for that partner, met Diane Greene from Google Cloud, and the journey started.”
The Southeast Asian digital travel and lifestyle platform specializes in travel accommodations for its clients, including booking flights, hotels, ride-hailing, food delivery, financial and health care services, among other services, according to the release. Its collaboration with Google will help strengthen the service’s ability to meet the daily demands of people across Asia.
"With Google's help, our ecosystem will not only be transactional, but be about building community, and enriching that community – not just the customers but partners like restaurants, airlines, hotels and drivers,” Fernandes said. “I'm excited to reveal how airasia and all of Capital A's assets will transform Asean and deliver value, not only in transactions but in making Asean a smaller place. What we are doing is not evolutionary, but revolutionary. I'm going to enjoy the ride with Google.”
The airasia Super App is now accessible in Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore, Thailand, and the Philippines, the release stated. As it undergoes modification in various markets, the super app, based in Malaysia, will continue serving more than 51 million users, Credit Suisse reports.
“With Thomas and his team, we are now on the road to disrupting the digital platform arena in the same vein as we did airlines,” Fernandes said. “We may be late in the game, but with the Super App as the center of our ecosystem of e-commerce, logistics and fintech, we are determined to give all 700 million people in Asean inclusivity, accessibility and value.”