Saudi Startup DOO Secures $1.7M to Revolutionise AI Customer Support in GCC

Saudi-based DOO has just bagged USD 1.7 million in fresh funding, a move that could put it front and centre in the race to redefine customer experience across the Gulf. The round was led by Merak Capital, with Plus VC and a handful of other regional investors jumping in.

Abdulelah Alshareef, Vice President of Venture Capital at Merak Capital, pointed out that the firm is backing DOO because of its potential to reshape customer engagement standards while placing Saudi Arabia firmly on the map as a hub for AI innovation. That’s a bold claim, but considering how quickly AI adoption is gathering pace in the region, it rings true.

Founded only in 2024 and headquartered in Riyadh, DOO is still young but already aiming high. The company has built an AI-powered customer support platform tailored for enterprises. What makes it stand out is not just the underlying tech but its attention to language and culture: the system is designed to understand Arabic dialects and adapt responses to match local nuances. In a part of the world where subtle linguistic differences can really sway customer trust, that detail matters. I reckon this localisation strategy could be spot on for scaling across the GCC.

With the funding, the team plans to sharpen product development and bolster integrations with leading CRM systems and ecommerce platforms. CEO and co-founder Ali Mohsen highlighted that the company’s traction has been rapid, with growth figures pointing to a clear demand. In his words, DOO aims to put AI “on the frontline of customer engagement” not only in Saudi Arabia but across the wider region. Sounds ambitious, though if demand keeps growing, they might well pull it off.

One thing that resonates with me personally—especially from our work at *Arageek* supporting founders navigating customer pain points—is just how often businesses overlook the “human feel” in digital support. Automating isn’t enough; customers want to feel heard, preferably in their own tongue. The idea that DOO’s tool can talk in local dialects and still carry the brand’s voice strikes me as more than just clever marketing. In practice, that could be the difference between building loyalty and losing a client to competitors.

Still, expanding across the GCC won’t be a walk in the park. Scaling AI is notoriously tricky, integrations can be a bit of a faff, and cultural expectations vary city by city, let alone country by country. That said, DOO’s early success and the calibre of its backers suggest they have serious momentum behind them.

If all goes to plan, this could be one of those startups we’ll be hearing a lot more about in the next couple of years. And believe it or not, sometimes it’s the smallest tweaks—a word choice here, a dialect shift there—that decide whether technology is embraced or quietly ignored. For DOO, that fine balance could make or break its journey. And honestly, I’m chuffed to bits to see a homegrown Saudi startup pushing boundaries in AI with such ambition—even if the road ahead is definately going to be bumpy.

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