Saudi startup ToYou hires Moelis to help raise funds to fuel super app’s growth

Saudi Arabia’s ToYou, a startup that provides a range of services from ride hailing to food delivery, has hired Moelis & Co. to help raise funds to fuel the super app’s growth.

Talks for the financing round are at an early stage and the target amount is still being firmed up, according to people familiar with the matter, who asked not to be identified because the information is private.

Representatives for the New York-based investment bank and ToYou declined to comment.

Founded in 2019, ToYou started with a main focus on food delivery, but has added more features since, including a buy-now-pay-later service earlier this year. The Riyadh-based company is seeking to compete against other regional super apps, including Uber Technologies Inc.’s local unit Careem and Saudi sovereign wealth fund-backed Noon.com.

Last year, Algeria’s Yassir secured $150 million to roll out its super app while Uber’s Careem is still in the process of raising new funding.

Despite increasing headwinds for the global technology sector, Saudi and a number of regional tech firms have continued to attract significant investments. Saudi startups raised $359 million last quarter, 13 percent more than the same period in 2022, and outperformed peers in the United Arab Emirates for the first time, according to data from Magnitt.