Weekly Roundup: The Middle East tech news and startup deals

Techloy -

Here are the technology news, startup, and VC deals we tracked across the Middle East region this week:

Israel-based DeepDub raised $20 million in funding led by Insight Partners.

  • The startup provides high-quality seamless localization of entertainment content using deep learning and AI algorithms.
  • It aims to bridge the language barrier and cultural gap of entertainment through high-quality localization.

UAE-based fintech Hubpay raised $20 million in a Series A round led by Signal Peak Ventures, while Olive Tree Capital, BECO Capital, Stormbreaker, Emkan Capital, and Aditum participated in the round.

  • The fintech startup enables customers to send money both domestically and internationally.
  • Hubpay plans to use the funding to grow its team and expand into Asia and Africa.

UAE-based fintech Pyypl raised $11 million in a Series A round from a group of international family offices and angel investors.

  • The fintech startup provides digital payments and financial services without the need for a bank account or credit card.
  • Pyypl will use the funding to grow its business in the GCC markets and plans to launch in Kenya and Mozambique.

UAE-based Micropolis Robotics raised a $4 million seed round led by US-based Mindrock Capital.

  • The robotics company designs, develops, and manufactures autonomous utility robots.
  • The funding will be used to accelerate its commercial production capabilities and fund R&D and business development.

Saudi Arabia-based delivery as a service (DaaS) startup BARQ raised $4 million in a seed funding round led by OTF Jasoor Ventures and Hambro Perks Oryx Fund with participation from Sultan Holding, Saudi Venture Capital Company (SVC), and others, to be used to expand its presence in Saudi Arabia and increase its product offerings.

Saudi Arabia-based logistics startup RedBox raised $3 million in a seed round led by Vision Ventures with participation from RAF Investments and angel investors.

  • Redbox operates a network of 170 smart lockers in Saudi Arabia with plans to reach 300 smart lockers by end of Q2, 2022, and 800 smart lockers by end of 2022.
  • It currently serves more than 9,000 e-commerce businesses in Saudi Arabia.

UAE-based quick commerce startup YallaMarket raised $2.2 million in a bridge round from Doha Tech Angels, Flyer One Ventures, and AngelsDeck.

  • This comes two months after it secured a $2.3 million pre-seed round led by Wamda and Dubai Angel Investors.
  • The funding will be used to expand across the UAE particularly in Dubai and other GCC countries.

Saudi-based fintech startup Tamawal, a digital brokerage platform, raised $1.1 million in a pre-seed round led by MRK to accelerate the launch of the company's services.

UAE-based social media app ASKWHO, which helps users make friends with like-minded individuals and create a more connected community, raised $1 million in a seed round from several angel investors to accelerate its growth and strengthen its position as the go-to social app in the region.

Dubai-based fintech startup Zywa secured $1 million in a pre-seed round backed by YCombinator and strategic investors which include executives from Google, Amazon, Netflix, McKinsey, and Morgan Stanley. Zywa plans to use the funding to expand its services into Egypt and the United Arab Emirates, and plans to go live in Saudi Arabia by 2023.

The Draft provides a weekly roundup of the most important tech news across key emerging markets in Africa, Asia, Eastern Europe, Latin America, and the Middle East. Follow the rest of our coverage @techloy on Twitter.