The Full List of 6 Unicorn Startups in United Arab Emirates (2026)
The United Arab Emirates' startup scene features six unicorn companies concentrated in Dubai and Abu Dhabi. The most valuable are marketing firm Aleph Group and cloud kitchen provider Kitopi, both valued at $2 billion. The group is diverse, including AI company G42 which has raised $2.3 billion in funding. Other sectors represented include classifieds, deep tech, and Web3 infrastructure.
Below is the full list of 6 United Arab Emirates unicorn startups at this time.
Top 6 Most Valuable United Arab Emirates Unicorns
Aleph Group operates as a global enabler of digital advertising, connecting thousands of advertisers in emerging countries with leading platforms like Meta and TikTok. Their team provides the local sales expertise and cross-border payment solutions necessary for these platforms to monetize their ad space in new markets.
| Valuation | $2B |
| Headquarters | Dubai, Dubai, United Arab Emirates |
| Year Founded | 2005 |
| Founders | Gaston Taratuta |
| Funding Amount | $495M |
| Company Size | Major Organization (1,001-5,000) |
| Last Funding Status | Corporate Round |
| Top Investors | X (formerly Twitter), MercadoLibre, Snap, CVC Capital Partners, SMC |
Kitopi operates a smart kitchen network that allows food brands to expand their delivery reach. They manage the end-to-end operations, from cooking to delivery, enabling restaurants to scale quickly across new markets.
| Valuation | $2B (Joined July 2021) |
| Headquarters | Dubai, Dubai, United Arab Emirates |
| Year Founded | 2018 |
| Founders | Andres Arenas, Bader Ataya, Mohamad Ballout, Saman Darkan |
| Funding Amount | $804M |
| Company Size | Enterprise Organization (5,001+) |
| Last Funding Status | Series C |
| Top Investors | VentureSouq, BECO Capital, Endeavor Catalyst, Bossa Invest, SoftBank Vision Fund |
XPANCEO builds smart contact lenses that function as an interface for AI-powered extended reality. Their goal is to create the next generation of computing that is invisible and merges seamlessly with the real world.
| Valuation | $1.35B (Joined July 2025) |
| Headquarters | Dubai, Dubai, United Arab Emirates |
| Year Founded | 2021 |
| Founders | Roman Axelrod, Valentyn Volkov |
| Funding Amount | $290M |
| Company Size | Mid-Size Team (51-250) |
| Last Funding Status | Series A |
| Top Investors | Opportunity Venture |
G42 develops artificial intelligence and cloud computing platforms for a wide range of industries. Their work focuses on creating foundational AI capabilities to support large-scale enterprise and government applications.
| Valuation | $1B |
| Headquarters | Abu Dhabi, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates |
| Year Founded | 2018 |
| Founders | — |
| Funding Amount | $2.3B |
| Company Size | Enterprise Organization (5,001+) |
| Last Funding Status | Corporate Round |
| Top Investors | Mubadala, Microsoft, Silver Lake |
Dubizzle Group operates a portfolio of leading classifieds and property portals focused on emerging markets. Their platforms connect millions of users to buy, sell, or rent everything from cars and real estate to general goods.
| Valuation | $1B (Joined April 2020) |
| Headquarters | Dubai, Dubai, United Arab Emirates |
| Year Founded | 2015 |
| Founders | Imran Ali Khan, Zeeshan Ali Khan |
| Funding Amount | $479M |
| Company Size | Enterprise Organization (5,001+) |
| Last Funding Status | Private Equity |
| Top Investors | KCK, Prosus, Affinity Partners, Exor Ventures, OLX Group |
The Open Platform builds Web3 infrastructure to bring crypto applications and payments directly into the Telegram messenger. Their suite of TON-based tools gives developers the components needed to integrate these blockchain features.
| Valuation | $1B (Joined July 2025) |
| Headquarters | Dubai, Dubai, United Arab Emirates |
| Year Founded | 2022 |
| Founders | — |
| Funding Amount | $28.5M |
| Company Size | Mid-Size Team (51-250) |
| Last Funding Status | Series A |
| Top Investors | Kingsway Capital, Vy Capital, Pantera Capital, Kevin Hu, Ribbit Capital |
