Top Startups in UAE, (Dubai)

Dubai’s startup scene has shifted gears in 2025, bustling with new ideas and record-breaking deals. Thanks in part to a healthy network of accelerators, co-working spaces, and serious VC funding love, early-stage founders and freelancers are finding more opportunities here than ever.

Whether you’re pulling an all-nighter for your next pitch deck or eyeing your first term sheet, Dubai’s ecosystem is stuffed with support—think incubators, generous seed funding, and enough angel investors to fill a conference room. From gritty fintechs to slick foodtech platforms, here’s a closer look at the spaces and faces shaping Dubai’s rise as MENA’s innovation capital—brought to you in that straight-talking way Arageek readers expect.

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Alaan is shaking up corporate spending for SMEs with slick AI-powered expense cards and multi-currency support. Targeting firms still tangled up in old-school petty cash, their platform slashes manual accounting headaches and nails down VAT compliance—a rare feat for early-stage fintech here. Their Y Combinator stamp and $11.5M in seed funding highlight Metro access to international VC cash, while their tie-up with Visa marks some seriously smart expansion plans.

Proof that the right early VC can transform a local solution into a pan-GCC engine for small business growth.

Arcab is redefining fleet operations in the UAE by turning idle buses into profit engines. Originally a bus-pooling app, it now offers a tech-powered platform that helps operators—from Dubai Taxi to Europcar—optimize routes, reduce downtime, and boost margins. Backed by We Founder Circle and featured in Forbes 30 Under 30, Arcab has grown into a standout MENA mobility startup. Its tools replace manual fleet management with data-driven efficiency. Headquartered in Dubai with ties to Sharjah via Sheraa, Arcab is accelerating smart mobility across the region.

Secondhand books might not scream “next unicorn”, but Bookends proves the UAE’s reading crowd is a force to be reckoned with. The startup is a simple, user-friendly site for buying and selling pre-loved books, plugging the gap for anyone shut out by the eye-watering price of fresh paperbacks. This online marketplace isn’t just about wallets, either—it’s also big on sustainability and building a reading culture that sticks. If you like the idea of a circular economy that lets your favourite stories go round the block a few more times, Bookends’ model nails it.

Shows how even marketplace startups make their mark in Sharjah's evolving ecosystem—especially when co-working, cap table talks and creative hustle come together.

GrubTech serves up an all-in-one SaaS platform for restaurants, tying together POS, delivery, and kitchen operations like nobody else in the GCC. Boasting 700+ brands onboard and a chunky $15M Series B, their approach cuts costs and boosts efficiency—vital as Dubai’s F&B scene grows fiercer by the week. With eyes on not just restaurants but groceries and chemists too, GrubTech shows just how broad the “foodtech” label can be.

Just goes to show co-working platforms and savvy SaaS founders are the real backbone of Dubai’s eat-and-repeat economy.

Growdash serves the pay-as-you-grow end of Dubai’s restaurant boom, offering AI that crunches sales data to fine-tune menus and staffing. With only $2 million invested so far, 500+ SMEs are already on board—largely thanks to Flat6Labs’ early belief and useful partnerships with delivery apps. For F&B founders drowning in data, this is the analytics sidekick you wish you’d found sooner.

Another clear sign that Dubai’s startup accelerators aren’t just funding flashy ideas—they’re betting on founders who genuinely get local pain points.

Tired of chasing late invoices? InvoiceMate brings order to financial paperwork chaos by marrying blockchain with AI. Their platform gives SMEs and accountancy firms a tamper-proof, automated way to process, verify, and track transactions—cutting down on fraud and making payment headaches a thing of the past. After getting seed funding and joining Hub71’s Digital Assets programme, they’re set to change how MENA businesses sort their accounting, making cap table headaches less of a thing for ambitious founders.

This is another example of Abu Dhabi startups leading the way on practical fintech—including those sticky, day-to-day issues that keep founders up at night.

Keyper is changing the way tenants and landlords handle rent payments in Dubai, introducing monthly card payments with landlords still getting their lump sums upfront. This proptech takes some pain out of the annual rent trauma, offering insurance and maintenance tools bundled in. With a $30M debt facility from Franklin Templeton in the bag, Keyper is scaling up while others are still working out a pitch deck. Its sharp API ties with the Dubai Land Department give it the kind of credibility most founders dream of.

It proves how proptech can modernise even the most old-school corners of Dubai's booming rental market.

Lizzom is redefining menstrual care in the UAE by merging sustainability, women’s health, and social innovation into a single bold mission. Founded by Chanda Lokendra in 2019, the Dubai-based startup produces organic, biodegradable sanitary pads that are free from chemicals, aiming to provide a safer alternative for women while reducing environmental harm. But Lizzom doesn’t stop at product innovation—the company is also championing menstrual equity by working with corporates and schools to install vending machines that offer free period products in restrooms. As a member of Sharjah’s Startup Studio (S3) and a participant in major entrepreneurship festivals like SEF, Lizzom is growing from a product-first startup into a movement reshaping how women experience and access menstrual care across the region.

NOW Money offers digital banking to the folks regular banks usually miss—namely, the UAE’s migrant workforce. Charging just $2 a month, they undercut old-school banks and clinch deals with companies running staff payroll for 100k+ workers. With Accion’s support, their roadmap extends to remittance flows into Pakistan and Bangladesh, proving that financial inclusion doesn’t need a million-dollar buzzword—just good, local sense.

This is what a modern financial ecosystem looks like in practice, not just in pitch decks.

Corporate spending can be a minefield, but Qashio is cleaning things up with its smart fintech platform. Designed for businesses keen to ditch the manual paperwork, their solution manages and tracks company expenses from one slick dashboard. Bosses can quickly spot leaks, set spending rules, and integrate directly with banks across the UAE. After landing two funding rounds—including backing from top-name accelerators—and joining Hub71’s latest cohort, Qashio’s seen over $100 million in financial operations processed and is redefining how SMEs and big players handle their cap tables.

This is exactly the sort of home-grown fintech innovation that’s getting noticed by both investors and long-standing companies seeking digital transformation.

Qstay brings posh, high-tech serviced apartments to Dubai’s flooded short-let market. With 1,000+ luxury suites fitted with smart controls and a hotel-level touch, they’re targeting digital nomads and business regulars who want something different to Airbnb. This hospitality startup boasts a 92% occupancy rate and a decent $5M seed round, showing just how much room there is for innovation if you know where to look.

If you want to aquire loyal business clients, sometimes you just need to combine top kit with reliable old-school hospitality.

SecureMyScholarship is the lifeline for international students who want more than just the standard university path. Their platform opens up access to scholarships at over 400 universities, offering everything from visa help to application support and essay reviews. The $1.7M they’ve raised (with a $6M valuation on their latest bridge round) reflects how investors are backing social impact models with scale. Thanks to a light subscription for Western universities and full support in the UAE, they stand out as a proper education incubator in the region.

Shows how Dubai’s startup accelerators are nurturing founders with global ambition—and making education grants as frictionless as ordering takeaway.

Stake lets everyone grab a bite of Dubai’s property pie—no millionaire’s budget required. Their blockchain-enabled platform gives users fractional ownership in prime real estate from as little as 500 SAR, and the $22 million in funding proves there’s appetite for democratised investment. With strong backing from local and international VCs, Stake’s model is already making waves in Saudi and fits neatly with wider Vision 2030 ambitions.

All proof the right accelerator (or a little help from a good angel investor) can turn complex real estate into a simple, sharable asset.

Tabby is the region’s fintech juggernaut, bridging the credit gap with buy-now-pay-later tech, digital spending accounts, and money tools for everyday use. The app’s 15 million users and 40,000 merchants are a testament to how market-ready their founders were—rolling out features like Tabby Card just as cashless payments hit mainstream. Recently pulling off a $160 million Series E round at a $3.3 billion valuation, Tabby is pushing hard in Saudi’s cashless drive. It’s a classic example of a startup using smart product design and solid VC backing to take over regional finance.

This level of traction shows just how vital strong infrastructure is for turning a sharp cap table into a proper unicorn in Dubai’s fast-moving ecosystem.

Tenderd tracks and tunes heavy machinery with AI brains, saving big on fuel and downtime for GCC’s construction giants. Their blend of IoT sensors and predictive maintenance tools has already drawn top clients and backers, including Peter Thiel. After a fresh $30M Series A, Tenderd is gunning for expansion across UAE, Oman, and Qatar—showing the wider industrial sector just what’s possible with data-driven thinking.

Industrial upgrades like these make Dubai a practical playground for anyone building smart solutions in big, tough markets.

Planning a getaway or remote work escape doesn’t have to mean juggling browser tabs and endless searches—Traveln.AI is turning that chaos into clarity. Founded in 2022 in Dubai by Imad Afyouni and Charbel Tahech, this MENA-born travel tech startup leverages generative AI to craft personalized itineraries based on your mood, budget, and destination goals. Whether you’re craving cultural hotspots or quiet cafes with Wi-Fi, the app sifts through events, reviews, and travel data in seconds to deliver a full plan—hotels, experiences, and routes included. After gaining traction through platforms like Expand North Star and working with Sheraa in Sharjah, Traveln.AI is fast becoming the go-to trip planner for a new generation of spontaneous, smart explorers.

No more frantic WhatsApp chains to source fresh produce—Watermelon Ecosystem is proving digital can finally streamline the food and beverage supply chain in the region. Their B2B platform connects hotels, restaurants and caterers to trusted suppliers, managing everything from purchasing to payments. They've made it work for local suppliers too, automating inventory and order tracking so even smaller players gain a chance at bigger clients. With Series A funding locked and a seat in Hub71’s Access programme, they're reshaping MENA's F&B market, one watermelon at a time.

From fintech to proptech and beyond, Dubai’s startup ecosystem is punching well above its weight. Seven out of these ten have nailed Series A (or much higher), with the Central Bank and DIFC creating enough regulatory headroom for creative founders to experiment and grow. The VC and accelerator pipeline isn’t slowing anytime soon, and 2025’s funding looks set to smash $2B. If there’s room for improvement, consider swapping “startup” for a more distinct synonym once or twice, shortening an overlong introductory line, and adding a bridging phrase to keep readers moving smoothly between profiles. Either way, one thing’s certain—the opportunities are here for anyone who’s got the drive and can handle life at Dubai pace.