New Delhi, Feb. 14 -- Saudi Arabian startups largely dominated early-stage funding activity in the Middle East and North Africa region this week while buy-now-pay-later platform Tabby emerged as the most valuable fintech company.

Tabby raised a Series E round of funding at a valuation of $3.3 billion even as it plans to float an initial public offering.

Other startups that secured funding include the build-now-pay-later platform Buildnow, insurtech startup AppliedAI, logistics startup PIESHIP, equity management tools platform RasMal, and Saudi social e-commerce platform Taager.

The region also saw a couple of acquisition deals this week. Investcorp-backed software startup Salla bought digital advertising platform Sweply and Saudi Arabian social media platform Mush Social acquired social media app Pubbles.

AppliedAI

AppliedAI, a UAE-focused insurtech startup, raised $55 million in a Series A funding round at a pre-money valuation of $300 million. The round was led by existing Abu Dhabi-based investor G42 and saw participation from Palantir, Bessemer Venture Partners, McKinsey, and Accrete Capital.

Founded in 2021 in the UK by Arya H. Bolurfrushan, AppliedAI utilizes AI to process medical billing records and insurance claims faster and more accurately than traditional outsourcing firms. The firm relocated to the UAE in 2022.

It aims to use the new funding to develop AI tools and expand the team to support more clients in the US and Europe. The latest round comes almost three years after it raised $42 million from G42 and the Al Maktoum family.

Buildnow

Saudi Arabian construction tech startup Buildnow raised $9.7 million in a funding round led by STV and Arbah Capital to facilitate market expansion. It also raised additional funding through debt financing.

Founded in 2022 by Hisham Al Saleh, Rahat Dewan, and Abdulla Sheikh, BuildNow is the MENA region's first build-now-pay-later platform that supports small and medium enterprises. It funds raw materials, construction, and manufacturing, catering to SMEs, and offering credit terms tailored to optimize their cash flow.

It plans to utilize the additional funding to expand its operations. Last year, the company raised $9.4 million, which included $6.5 million in equity and $2.9 million in debt financing.

PIESHIP

Saudi Arabian logistics startup PIESHIP raised $2.1 million in seed funding, led by its existing backers Nama Ventures and SEEDRA Ventures, to expand within the country. A few angel investors also participated in the round.

The latest funding comes a year after it raised a pre-seed investment of an undisclosed amount. Founded in 2023 by Nasser Alharthi, Musaed Al-Amri, and Mohammed Mohsen, PIESHIP offers warehouse management solutions and innovative solutions to improve the last-mile delivery experience to deliver shipments faster.

The startup aims to utilize the investment to support business growth, research, and development of new products and services for its customers.

RasMal

RasMal, a Saudi platform for equity management tools, secured $4.8 million in pre-Series A investment, in a round led by Syndicate Element Holding Group, to scale its business. The latest fundraising comes almost a year after it acquired the UAE's Pentugram to expand its offering into private capital investment management solutions.

Founded in 2019 by Basil Alkuraya and Nasser Al-Tamimi, RasMal provides digital solutions to help private companies automate cap table management, fundraising, and equity transfers, while also supporting investors and private funds in managing investment opportunities and investor relations. With the latest investment, RasMal aims to introduce new tools and services to streamline fundraising processes and equity transfers.

LAHINT

Saudi Arabian e-services platform LAHINT closed a $1 million pre-seed funding round from undisclosed investors. The startup wants to utilize the funding to scale the business. LAHINT had secured $267,000 in pre-seed funding last year.

Founded in 2023 by Ahmed Saber and Mohamed Ibrahim, LAHINT automates governmental services for individuals and businesses.

Taager

Saudi Arabian social e-commerce platform Taager secured $6.75 million in a pre-Series B funding round, led by Africa-focused tech growth fund Norrsken22.

Founded in 2019 in Egypt, Taager's platform enables anyone to start and scale their own social e-commerce business by providing products, storage, shipping, and customer collection. It currently operates in Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and the UAE and recently expanded to Iraq.

It wants to use the fresh capital to fuel its growth in the Middle East. Taager had raised a $6.4 million seed round in 2021, led by 4DX Ventures, with participation from Raed Ventures and other investors.

BRKZ

Saudi construction tech platform BRKZ closed its Series A extension round at $17 million, which includes $8 million raised in March last year and $1 million in venture debt. The round was backed by a slew of investors, including Capifly and existing investors such as BECO Capital, Aramco's Waed, and 9900 Capital.

Founded in 2022 by Ibrahim Manna, BRKZ sells building materials to contractors and builders on its B2B platform. The startup aims to use the funding to expand across Saudi Arabia and other countries in the Gulf region.

The Riyadh-headquartered startup had raised $5.5 million in seed capital in 2023. Other backers of the round include Better Tomorrow Ventures, RZM Investment, Class 5 Global, MISY Ventures, Knollwood Investment Advisory, and Fluent Ventures.

Mush Social-Pubbles

Saudi Arabia-based social media platform Mush Social, which secured $1.2 million in pre-seed funding last year, has acquired the Saudi social media app Pubbles to expand its user base and reinforce its digital presence.

Founded in 2022 by Abdulhadi Alasmi, Mush Social is a social platform that allows users to earn interactive points. Its features allow users to own virtual assets and make financial gains. Mush Social aims to use the acquisition to scale its technology offerings.

Salla-Sweply

Saudi Arabian software startup Salla, which secured $130 million in a pre-IPO investment round last year, entered into an agreement to acquire Sweply, a Saudi digital advertising platform. Post the acquisition, Sweply will be rebranded as 'Salla Ads,' becoming the official advertising solution within Salla's ecosystem.

Last year, Salla had secured investment led by Bahrain-based alternative investment firm Investcorp along with Saudi PIF-owned Sanabil Investment and STV. It had raised $8.5 million in a Series A round in 2020, led by STV.

Founded in 2016 by Nawaf Hariri and Salman Butt, Salla enables merchants to set up their e-commerce online shops within hours and accept payments. Besides, users can also set up stores with their domain name.

Sweply, founded in 2021 by Ebrahim Saeed and Wael Hassan, is an advertising platform that enables merchants to create, manage, and optimize their digital marketing campaigns with greater efficiency and precision.

Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from VC Circle.