Terence Zou

Terence Zou
Born	Singapore
Nationality	Singaporean
Education	Harvard Business School Massachusetts Institute of Technology London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE)
Occupation	Entrepreneur
Organization	Ryde Group (NYSE: RYDE)
Title	Founder, Chairman, and CEO

Terence Zou is a Singaporean entrepreneur, best known as the founder and CEO of Ryde Group Ltd, a ride-hailing and carpooling company established in 2014. Under his leadership, Ryde Group went public on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) on March 6, 2024,^[1] through its initial public offering.^[2] In September 2024, Ryde raised an additional US$4.5 million through a public offering.^[3][4]

Early life and education

Terence Zou was born and raised in Singapore. He attended Raffles Institution and Raffles Junior College before studying at the London School of Economics (LSE), where he earned a bachelor's degree.^[5] He later obtained a master's degree from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).^[3]

Career

Military Service

After completing his studies, Zou served in the Republic of Singapore Navy for eight years as part of a scholarship bond.^[3] During his time in the military, he served as the commander of the RSS Resilience. In 1995, Zou received the Queen's Binoculars for being the top naval cadet at the Britannia Royal Naval College in the United Kingdom.^[6]

Business career

After fulfilling his military service, Zou pursued an MBA at Harvard Business School. He then worked in the finance sector, focusing on business operations.^[6]

In 2004, Zou conceived the idea for a carpooling application while serving in the Navy, although it was not until 2014 that he left his finance position to establish Ryde Group Ltd.^[3]

Ryde Group Ltd

In 2014, Zou founded Ryde Group, a company providing ride-hailing and carpooling services. Two years after its launch,^[7] Zou raised S$1 million in funding from a venture capital firm and later raised an additional S$2.5 million to support the group’s expansion.^[8] By 2017, Ryde had raised a total of S$5.8 million in funding.^[9] In the same year, the company partnered with ComfortDelGro, a transportation provider based in Singapore.^[10][11]

In 2020, Zou established the Ryde Education Merit Awards to recognize the academic achievements of the children of its driver-partners, and the program was later expanded to include scholarships.^[5] In March 2024, under Zou's leadership, Ryde went public on the New York Stock Exchange, raising US$12 million through its initial public offering (IPO). In September 2024, the company raised an additional US$4.5 million through a public offering.^[2]

References

1. Kumaresan, Shivani (March 11, 2024). "Why Is Ride-Hailing Startup Ryde's Stock In High Gear Today? - Ryde Group (AMEX:RYDE)". www.benzinga.com.
2. Goh, Timothy (March 7, 2024). "S'pore ride-hailing firm Ryde holds steady in trading debut on New York Stock Exchange". The Straits Times.
3. Tan, Claudia (2024-08-19). "Meet the founder of the first Singaporean ride-hailing firm listed on NYSE". Singapore Global Network.
4. "3,000,000 Class A Ordinary Shares - Ryde Group Ltd". U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
5. Stewart, Melissa (1 September 2021). "Ryde's CEO on overcoming adversity and the value of hard work". CNA (TV network).
6. Shah, Farhan (2021-06-01). "How his mother's passing taught Ryde CEO Terence Zou about life and toppling giants". PEAK Singapore.
7. Pei, Mia (2023-09-12). "Ride-hailing platform Ryde files for NYSE IPO to raise US$17 million". The Business Times.
8. Teo, Jayme (2024-03-06). "Ryde announces IPO in the US, but the journey may be far from easy". Vulcan Post.
9. Pei, Mia (2023-09-12). "Ride-hailing platform Ryde files for NYSE IPO to raise US$17 million". The Business Times.
10. Koh, Valerie (May 25, 2017). "Comfort hooks up with Ryde to offer taxi-booking service". TODAY.
11. "Connecting Asia's startup ecosystem". Tech in Asia.