The UAE has quickly started to become one of the hottest tourist destinations for those wanting a lavish and luxurious city break. Tourists flock to shop, enjoy the lively nightlife, and be entertained in the glamourous streets of Dubai. This vibrant hub of activity supports the UAE's large and booming economy, which is home to many top startups. It's not just the nightlife and tourism that are helping the UAE economy grow. The country has had rapid growth in many sectors including retail, real estate, e-commerce, and oil and gas. UAE startups have contributed to $700 million in funding raised in just the first half of last year.
UAE startups benefit from the strong presence of VC firms and accelerators to help budding startups to build their concepts and grow their business. There are more than 350 VC firms that operate in the country and more than 50 accelerators. This highlights the fact that there is more than enough funding to go around.
Recently, it was announced that the government was launching a scheme to further boost its economy by supporting UAE startups. The programme has been designed to help the 100 top startups, in order to secure economic growth and success which will filter into the UAE's economy. It is called 'The Future 100' scheme and is targeted at startups that work within the renewable energy, technology, and space sectors.
1. Fenix Games
Year Founded: 2022
HQ: Dubai, Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Size: 1-10
Founders: Chris Ko, Rudy Koch
Fenix Games is a UAE startup that was founded in 2022 and is currently based in Dubai. The company publishes games in the Web 3.0 space and aims to utilize their Wall Street connections to create a better environment for players to earn whilst playing fun games. They are also going to build games in the Web 2.0 environment.
The business has gone through a number of funding rounds since being founded, with the company raising a total of $150 Million to help to expand its operations. The last funding round took place in November 2022.
2. Alaan
Year Founded: 2020
HQ: Dubai, Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Size: 11-50
Founders: Karun Kurien, Parthi Duraisamy
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Alaan is a UAE startup that was founded in 2020 and is currently based in Dubai. The business operates in the FinTech market and provides corporate cards to businesses across the Middle East. These businesses can then easily distribute them to workers with pre-coded sets of limitations and uses.
The business has gone through a number of funding rounds since being founded, with the company most recently raising a total of $4.5 Million in a Pre-Series A Round in January 2023.
3. Tabby
Year Founded: 2019
HQ: Dubai, Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Size: 101-250
Founders: Daniil Barkalov, Hosam Arab
Tabby is a UAE startup that was founded in 2019 and is currently based in Dubai. The company operates in the FinTech market and allows consumers to take longer to pay for their items. They can take four monthly interest-free payments to clear their balance, freeing up their money for other things.
The business has been through a number of funding rounds since being founded, with the most recent being an impressive raise of $58 Million, which took the valuation of the company over $660 Million.
4. The Giving Movement
Year Founded: 2020
HQ: Dubai, Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Size: 51-100
Founders: Dominic Nowell-Barnes
The Giving Movement is a UAE startup that was founded in 2020 and is currently based in Dubai. The business is a social enterprise that sells a variety of clothing and accessories to people across the world. They endeavour to make sure that all of their clothing lines are sustainable and ethically sourced.
The business has been through a number of funding rounds since being founded, with the most recent being a Series A Round in March 2022 when the startup raised a total of $15 Million to fuel its expansion.
5. Huspy
Year Founded: 2020
HQ: Dubai, Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Size: 101-250
Founders: Jad Antoun, Khalid Ashmawy
Huspy is a UAE startup that was founded in 2020 and is currently based in Dubai. The company operates in the FinTech market and makes it easier for consumers to get fairly priced loans to buy their home. They're helping thousands of people to make better mortgage choices and get on the property ladder.
The company has been through a number of funding rounds since being founded, with the most recent being a Series A Round in June 2022 when the company received $37 Million in funding.
6. zenda
Year Founded: 2021
HQ: Dubai, Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Size: 51-100
Founders: Haseed Ahmed, Raman Thiagarajan
Zenda is a UAE startup that was founded in 2021 and is currently based in the city of Dubai. The company operates a FinTech platform for families that allows them to pay their children's school fees and then get rewarded for doing so, with the ability to spread the payments using BNPL.
The company has been through a number of funding rounds since being founded, with the most recent being a Seed Funding Round in April 2022 when the company raised a total of $9.4 Million.
7. Flare Network
Year Founded: 2019
HQ: Dubai, Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Size: 11-50
Founders: Hugo Phillion, Naïri Usher, Sean Rowan
Flare Network is a UAE startup that was founded in 2019 and is currently based in Dubai. The company operates in the blockchain market and has developed an EVM Layer 1 blockchain that allows for sharing of data from the standard internet and other chains. This increases the utility of the blockchain.
The business has gone through three rounds of startup funding since being founded, with the most recent being a round in June 2021 when it raised $11.3 Million during the company's Seed Round.
8. Matic
Year Founded: 2016
HQ: Dubai, Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Size: 101-250
Founders: Mohamed Samad
Matic is a UAE startup that was founded in 2016 and is currently based in Dubai. The company helps the residents of the city to get fast access to cleaners for their home, through the use of an advanced booking tool. Once booked, cleaners will be out quickly and will provide a competitive rate to do the cleaning.
The business has not recently sought any startup funding, with the last raise by the company taking place in 2017. During this funding round, the company raised a total of $3 Million to improve its operations.
9. YallaMarket
Year Founded: 2021
HQ: Dubai, Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Size: 51-100
Founders: Leonid Dovbenko, Stanislav Seleznev
YallaMarket is a UAE startup that was founded in 2021 and is currently based in the city of Dubai. The company operates in the e-commerce market and allows users to visit their platform and get the groceries they need, right to their door within 15-minutes. No more last minute shopping trips because you forgot something.
The business has gone through a number of funding rounds since being founded, with the most recent being a Bridging Round that took place in February 2022 when the company raised $2.2 Million.
10. Nümi
Year Founded: 2021
HQ: Abu Dhabi, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
Size: 101-250
Founders: Victor Tumasov
Nümi is another top startup from the UAE and operates as an online entertainment ecosystem. The startup company was founded to create an online gaming platform for UGC (user-generated content). Creators and followers can share experiences in the metaverse of innovative games, and streaming content. The aim is to share a playful and creative platform for gamers to be immersed in and love. Nümi has values of putting people first, working with experts, being open, transparent, and free, and creating a space of equal opportunity.
Since launching in just 2021, the UAE startup has raised an impressive total funding amount of $20M. This was made possible with the support of one investor, on one Seed funding round, which took place on the 11th of January, 2023.
11. NymCard
Year Founded: 2018
HQ: Abu Dhabi, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
Size: 11-50
Founders: Ayman Chalhoub, Omar Onsi
NymCard is a UAE startup that was founded in 2018 and is currently based in Abu Dhabi. The company operates in the FinTech market and has created a solution that allows businesses to get the building blocks for their card-issuance projects, including digital-first bank cards.
The business has gone through a number of funding rounds since being founded, with the most recent being a $22.5 Million round that took place in June 2022. This highlights the belief that investors have in the company.
12. Tarabut Gateway
Year Founded: 2018
HQ: Dubai, Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Size: 51-100
Founders: Abdulla Almoayed
Tarabut Gateway is a UAE startup that was founded in 2018 and is currently based in Dubai. The company operates in the Fintech Market and uses a variety of open-banking APIs to help banks and FinTechs to securely process the flow of money and information in an instant, bringing financial services into the modern world.
The business has secured a notable amount of startup funding since being founded, with the total raised by the company standing at $25 Million. It is unclear whether the company has plans to raise more funding in the immediate future.
13. qlub
Year Founded: 2021
HQ: Dubai, Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Size: 101-250
Founders: Eyad Alkassar, Jianggan Li, Mahmoud Fouz, Oscar Bedoya, Ramy Omar
Qlub is a UAE startup that was founded in 2021 and is currently based in the city of Dubai. The company operates in the FinTech market and has created a service specifically for restaurants, that allows them to have their guests view their menu and pay from a single tap of their phone screen.
The business has been through a number of funding rounds since being founded, with the most recent being a $17 Million Seed Funding round that took place in January 2022. It is unclear whether the business has plans for future funding.
14. Ziina
Year Founded: 2020
HQ: Dubai, Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Size: 1-10
Founders: Andrew Gold, Faisal Toukan, Sarah Toukan
Ziina is a UAE startup that was founded in 2020 and is currently based in the city of Dubai. The company operates in the FinTech market and has created the country's first social P2P payment solution. There are also solutions for business which make it easier to send and receive payments.
The business has been through a number of funding rounds since being founded, which has culminated in the company raising a total of $8.5 Million to improve its growth and development.
15. Colexion
Year Founded: 2021
HQ: Dubai, Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Size: 11-50
Founders: Abhay Aggarwal
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Colexion is a UAE startup that was founded in 2021 and is currently based in Dubai. The company has created an NFT marketplace that allows users to discover and buy exclusive digital artwork of stars from multiple different walks of fame. They have also created their own GameFi ecosystem.
The business has been through a number of funding rounds to get the money it needs to reach the next level, with the most recent of these rounds being a $5 Million round in February 2022.
16. Ekar
Year Founded: 2016
HQ: Dubai, Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Size: 51-100
Founders: Ravi Bhusari, Vilhelm Hedberg
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Ekar is a UAE startup that was founded in 2016 and is currently based in the city of Dubai. The company allows customers to easily access vehicles across their city, which they can unlock and use with the help of the Ekar app. Users also benefit from lower prices comparatively.
The business has been through a number of funding rounds since being founded, with the most recent being a $17.5 Million Series B round that took place in November 2019, it is unclear if the company has further plans for funding.
17. Qashio
Year Founded: 2021
HQ: Dubai, Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Size: 11-50
Founders: Armin Moradi, Jonathon Lau
Qashio is a UAE startup that was founded in 2021 and is currently based in the city of Dubai. The company operates in the FinTech market and provides its clients with virtual and physical corporate cards, expense management solutions and the complete track of spending for businesses in the Middle East.
The business has been through a number of funding rounds since being founded, with the company's total raise reaching $12.5 Million. The most recent of these was a $10 Million Seed Round in November 2022.
18. Meta Ruffy
Year Founded: 2022
HQ: Dubai, Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Size: 101-250
Founders: Cihan Sasmaz
Meta Ruffy is a UAE startup that was founded in 2022 and is currently based in Dubai. The business operates in the blockchain market and creates a range of virtual reality experiences in the metaverse. The company aims to be the go-to entertainment platform in the age of web3.
Since being founded, the company has not yet gone through any public rounds of startup funding. It is currently unclear whether the founders have plans to use funding to grow the business further.
19. Eat App
Year Founded: 2015
HQ: Dubai, Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Size: 51-100
Founders: David Feuillard, Nezar Kadhem
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Eat is a UAE startup that was founded in 2015 and is currently based in Dubai. The company operates in the SaaS market and has created a platform for restaurants that allows them to easily take reservations and manage the tables in their establishment for the better management of customer flow.
The business has gone through a number of funding rounds since being founded, with the most recent of these being a $11 Million Series B round that took place in September 2022, to fuel its expansion plans.
20. Qureos
Year Founded: 2021
HQ: Dubai, Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Size: 11-50
Founders: Alexander Epure, Mehrad Yaghmai, Usama Nini
Queros is a UAE startup that was founded in 2021 and is currently based in the city of Dubai. The company has created a platform that allows users to learn new skills, improve themselves and get a much better career in tech. They can connect with a range of career mentors and employers.
The business has been through a single round of startup funding since being founded, with this round helping the business to raise $3 Million to fuel its expansion plans. It is unclear whether the business has future funding plans.
21. Astra Tech
Year Founded: 2019
HQ: Dubai, Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Size: 1-10
Founders: Abdallah Abu Sheikh
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Astra Tech is a UAE startup that was founded in 2019 and is currently based in Dubai. The company intends to build a first of its kind digital ecosystem that encompasses all of the critical functions of day-to-day life. This is achieved through the use of revolutionary technology.
The business has gone through a number of funding rounds since being founded and has used these rounds to purchase businesses to assist their brand. In total, the company has raised 1.8 Billion AED.
FAQs
How Many Startups Are There in the UAE?
There are 5,641 startups in the UAE at the moment, which has grown by nearly 2,000 in the past year.
What is the Average Investment in UAE Startups?
The average Seed Round in the UAE is worth $1.3 Million and the average Series A is worth $14 Million.
What Startup Industries Are The Strongest in the UAE?
There are lots of booming industries in the UAE, but some of the biggest include tourism, the retail sector, oil, and real estate.
