How Uber and Grab Process 1.25M GPS Updates Per Second

Processing millions of real-time GPS updates requires a fundamental shift from traditional HTTP REST architectures. By adopting persistent connections (MQTT or gRPC), lightweight serialization (Protobuf), and intelligent filtering (Kalman Filter), ride-hailing platforms can reduce network overhead by 67% while maintaining sub-200ms latency—directly impacting battery life and user experience at global scale.