Foodtech

COFE closes $43M pre-IPO round at $178M valuation, targets Saudi listing by 2029

Sep 2, 2026

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2 min read

COFE closes $43M pre-IPO round at $178M valuation, targets Saudi listing by 2029

Wa’ed Ventures returns three years after leading its $15m Series B, as the Kuwait-born coffee-ordering app remakes itself into enterprise procurement and commerce software.

Jamie Lane

Foodtech

Saudi's Foodics completes full acquisition of Greek AI startup Norma

Jun 22, 2026

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1 min read

Saudi's Foodics completes full acquisition of Greek AI startup Norma

The Norma team now joins a dedicated Foodics AI division, with its analytics agent and business intelligence application folded into the core product.

Jamie Lane

Foodtech

Calo winds down UK operations 14 months after launch as meal platform refocuses on GCC markets

May 27, 2026

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1 min read

Calo winds down UK operations 14 months after launch as meal platform refocuses on GCC markets

New orders will cease at the end of May, deliveries will continue through June and all outstanding customer credits will be refunded.

Jamie Lane

Foodtech

Dubai's Peekabox raises $1.5m Seed round to sell surplus food from major F&B brands

May 18, 2026

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1 min read

Dubai's Peekabox raises $1.5m Seed round to sell surplus food from major F&B brands

The company has signed partnerships with 20 brands whose combined UAE store network exceeds 1,000 locations, including Carrefour, Costa Coffee, Tim Hortons, Dunkin', Krispy Kreme, and Paul.

Jamie Lane

Foodtech

Bahrain's Lola raises $3M seed to bring cake production in-house as custom orders scale across GCC

Apr 27, 2026

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1 min read

Bahrain's Lola raises $3M seed to bring cake production in-house as custom orders scale across GCC

Founded in September 2023 by Othman Janahi, Lola enables users to design and order fully customised cakes through a mobile app in under a minute, choosing from thousands of designs, colours and combinations.

Jamie Lane

Foodtech

Travis Kalanick folds CloudKitchens into new robotics company Atoms, raising questions over shelved Middle East IPO

Mar 23, 2026

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5 min read

Travis Kalanick folds CloudKitchens into new robotics company Atoms, raising questions over shelved Middle East IPO

The announcement ends eight years of stealth during which thousands of Atoms employees were reportedly not permitted to publicly name their employer.

Jamie Lane

Foodtech

Saudi AI startup TabSense lands $5M to scale agentic PoS to restaurants and cafés

Oct 21, 2025

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2 min read

Saudi AI startup TabSense lands $5M to scale agentic PoS to restaurants and cafés

Founded in 2024 by Mohammed Jaber, Mohammad Khleifat, Shadi Daboor and Mohamad Ababatain, TabSense develops a platform that uses autonomous AI agents to act like digital employees

Jamie Lane