👉 Before it’s everywhere, it’s in FWDstart. Subscribe for $99 and save 17% on the first year to support independent reporting on the MENA tech and startup ecosystem
Saudi’s Autobia has raised $12 million (SAR 45 million) in a Series A led by Artal Capital, with participation from AlJazira Capital and Aramco-backed Wa’ed Ventures, co-founder and COO Ahmed Alawfi announced on LinkedIn.
Founded in 2021 by Alawfi and CEO Emad Daghreri, Autobia built its business around the wholesale trade in replacement car parts. Its platform lets retailers and repair shops source parts from a network of suppliers, see prices and arrange delivery through an app.
The company combines the ordering software with the work of getting stock to merchants. Buyers can purchase parts from multiple brands in one place, have them delivered to their shops and retain a digital record of their transactions. Its marketplace covers parts for carmakers including Toyota, Hyundai, Nissan, Ford and BMW, alongside specialist parts brands such as Denso and ACDelco.
Daghreri previously co-founded TAM, which subsequently went public, according to early investor Sadu Capital. The pair launched Autobia to bring online ordering and logistics to a trade in which buyers were still relying heavily on manual processes to find suppliers and obtain prices.
The company previously raised a $2.5 million seed round in June 2023, led by Sadu Capital, with participation from Wa’ed Ventures, Raz Holding, Techstars and angel investors. At the time, it reported having traded more than one million spare parts and operated fulfilment centres in Riyadh and Jeddah.
Autobia now says it’s sold more than five million parts, serves over 100 cities and carries more than 160 brands.
Its products now also extend to how merchants pay for stock and collect money from customers.
Under its inventory-on-terms product, merchants receive an agreed purchasing limit based on the size of their business. They order through Autobia’s marketplace, receive the parts and pay in scheduled instalments. Their available purchasing limit is replenished as they repay.
A separate product, Qasima Plus, brings licensed buy-now-pay-later providers, including Tabby and Tamara, onto one platform for merchants. Customers can choose an instalment option when buying from a participating merchant, while the merchant receives consolidated settlement and invoicing services.
👉 Before it’s everywhere, it’s in FWDstart. Subscribe for $99 and save 17% on the first year to support independent reporting on the MENA tech and startup ecosystem
