About COTU Ventures
COTU Ventures is a venture capital firm founded in 2020. It is primarily based out of Saint Vincent And The Grenadines. As of Sep 2026, COTU Ventures is an active investor, having invested in 40 companies, with 8 new investments in the last 12 months. It primarily invests in Seed round in United Arab Emirates based startups. Its investments are spread across a wide range of sectors from Enterprise Applications to Consumer and FinTech. Most recently it participated in the $***** Seed round of Keep Converting Overall, COTU Ventures portfolio has seen 2 unicorns, 1 IPO and 3 acquisitions including key companies like Swvl, Careem and Fresha. A lot of funds co-invest with COTU Ventures, with names like Founders Fund sharing a substantial percentage of its portfolio. COTU Ventures has team of 7 people including 3 partners.Key Metrics
Team Members
Portfolio Sectors
Portfolio Locations
Rounds of Entry
Seed & Series A
Portfolio IPOs
Deals in last 12 months
COTU Ventures' List of Top Investments
COTU Ventures has a portfolio of 40 companies, including 2 unicorns. Their most notable investments are in Supy and AdalFi.Their portfolio spans across United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Egypt and 4 more locations. They have invested in Enterprise Applications, Consumer, FinTech, FinTech and 18 other sectors, across stages such as Seed, Series A stages. Here is the list of top investments by COTU Ventures:_1581686511122.png?format=webp&height=120&width=120){kind=logo}
1. Swvl
App-based platform for shuttle services. It offers a platform where users can book buses and vans which can be shared by users going the same routes. It offers features like real-time tracking, variant payment options, etc. It also extends its services for businesses. The mobile app is available for iOS and Android devices.
Key facts about Swvl
- Founded Year: 2017
- Location: Cairo (Egypt)
- Stage: Public
- Total Funding till date: $100M
- Employee Count: 599 as on Jul 31, 2026
- Investors: Chimera, MSA Capital and 29 Others
- Latest Funding Round: Post IPO, Aug 31, 2026, $*****
- Highlight: Public
2. Careem
App-based ride-hailing aggregator. Users can book rides by providing location, passenger details, payment details, and more. The platform also offers services like food delivery, recharge services, grocery delivery services, and more. Apps are available for Android and iOS users.
Key facts about Careem
- Founded Year: 2012
- Location: Dubai (United Arab Emirates)
- Last Known Valuation: $*****
- Stage: Acquired
- Total Funding till date: $772M
- Employee Count: 6,429 as on Jul 31, 2026
- Investors: Kingdom Holding Company, Kuwait Investment Authority and 26 Others
- Latest Funding Round: Series F, Oct 18, 2018, $*****
- Highlight: Acquired
3. Fresha
Online platform providing booking and scheduling local self care services. It offers appointment management, consultation forms, and client reminders. The platform allows users to discover salons, barbers, medspas, and wellness studios. It facilitates online bookings and appointment modifications for various beauty treatments.
Key facts about Fresha
- Founded Year: 2015
- Location: London (United Kingdom)
- Annual Revenue: £1M - £10M as on Dec 31, 2022
- Valuation: $*****
- Stage: Series C
- Total Funding till date: $285M
- Employee Count: 861 as on Jul 31, 2026
- Investors: General Atlantic, Chimera and 20 Others
- Latest Funding Round: Series C, May 21, 2026, $*****
- Highlight: Editors' Pick
4. Kitopi
Provider of a cloud-based network of food delivery businesses. It helps food brands with delivery-only locations to launch online storefronts. It also offers infrastructure, management services, phone support, and delivery management. It serves burgers, crispy chicken, and rice dishes.
Key facts about Kitopi
- Founded Year: 2018
- Location: Dubai (United Arab Emirates)
- Valuation: $*****
- Stage: Series C
- Total Funding till date: $852M
- Employee Count: 3,812 as on Jul 31, 2026
- Investors: GIC, B. Riley Financial and 29 Others
- Latest Funding Round: Series C, Jan 30, 2026, $*****
- Highlight: Editors' Pick
5. Wahed
Shariah-based investment and savings platform for individuals. It enables users to invest in multiple portfolios, save for home, pilgrimage, and wedding, achieve wealth goals, and more. Also offers an app-based platform that is available on iOS and Android devices.
Key facts about Wahed
- Founded Year: 2017
- Location: New York (United States)
- Valuation: $*****
- Stage: Series B
- Total Funding till date: $95M
- Employee Count: 228 as on Jul 31, 2026
- Investors: VII Ventures, BECO Capital and 13 Others
- Latest Funding Round: Series B, Nov 24, 2024, $*****
- Highlight: Editors' Pick
COTU Ventures' Year-on-Year Investment Trends
COTU Ventures has invested in 40 companies over the last 5 years, with an average of 3 new investments annually in the last 5 years. In 2025, it made 8 investments, while as of Sep 2026, it has made 5 investments in this year. Its most recent first time investment was in Keep Converting and most recent follow-on round was in Qureos.Year | No. of Investments | ||
|---|---|---|---|
1st Round | Follow-on | Total | |
2026 (YTD) | 4 | 1 | 5 |
2025 | 5 | 3 | 8 |
2024 | 2 | 1 | 3 |
2023 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
2022 | 3 | 2 | 5 |
2021 | 3 | 0 | 3 |
COTU Ventures' Investments by Stage
COTU Ventures has made 13 investments in Seed stage with an average round size of $5.7M and 5 investments in Series A stage with an average round size of $19.1M.Stage of entry | No. of Investments |
|---|---|
Seed | 13 |
Series A | 5 |
Note: We have considered here, only first round of investments
COTU Ventures' Investments by Sector
COTU Ventures has a diverse portfolio, with companies operating in the FinTech, Enterprise Applications, Consumer, Vertical SaaS and EdTech. Notably, it has invested in 36 Tech companies, 26 Enterprise (B2B) companies, 20 Consumer (B2C) companies and at least 17 companies focusing on Software.Sector | No. of Investments |
|---|---|
FinTech | 7 |
Enterprise Applications | 6 |
Consumer | 5 |
Vertical SaaS | 5 |
EdTech | 3 |
Others | 17 |
Note: We have considered here, only first round of investments
COTU Ventures' Investments by Geography
COTU Ventures has made most investments in United Arab Emirates (8), followed by Saudi Arabia where it has made 6 investments.Country | No. of Investments |
|---|---|
United Arab Emirates | 8 |
Saudi Arabia | 6 |
Egypt | 1 |
Pakistan | 1 |
United States | 1 |
Note: We have considered here, only first round of investments
COTU Ventures' recent investments
COTU Ventures has made 5 investments in 2026 so far. Keep Converting and Sirdab are the latest among them.Here are the most recent investments by COTU Ventures:
Filter this listDate | Company | Location | Round Details | Round Amount | Co-Investors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Sep 08, 2026 | - | Seed | 5254 | ||
Sep 06, 2026 | Saudi Arabia | Series A | 7286 | [+3] | |
May 14, 2026 | Saudi Arabia | Series A | 4190 | [+3] | |
Feb 09, 2026 | Saudi Arabia | Seed | 4793 | [+9] | |
Feb 04, 2026 | United Arab Emirates | Seed | 4875 | [+8] |
Unicorns in COTU Ventures' Portfolio
COTU Ventures has 2 unicorns in its portfolio - Fresha and Kitopi. The most recent unicorn in their portfolio is Fresha. It became a unicorn in 2026.Here is a list of unicorns in COTU Ventures' portfolio:
Tracxn Score | Company | Short Description | Founded year | Sector | Location | Company Stage | First Investment/ Acquisition Details |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
75 | Online platform providing booking and scheduling local self care services | 2015 | London | Series C | emtcieq | ||
71 | Provider of a cloud-based network of food delivery businesses | 2018 | Dubai | Series C | ipk{btt |
IPOs and Publicly Listed companies in COTU Ventures' Portfolio
1 of COTU Ventures' portfolio company became public - Swvl. It got listed on the National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations (NASDAQ), in Mar 2021 at marketcap of $4.77MHere are COTU Ventures' portfolio companies that went public:
Company | IPO Date | First Invested on | First Round of Investment | Round Size |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Mar 31, 2021 | - | - | 8773 |
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Acquired companies in COTU Ventures' Portfolio
3 companies from COTU Ventures' portfolio have been acquired. The most recent acquisition was Optima in Nov 2025 by DataCamp for $*****.Here are COTU Ventures' portfolio companies that got acquired most recently:
Company | Acquisition Date | First Invested on | First Round of Investment | Round Size |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Nov 13, 2025 | 2024 | Seed | 2660 | |
May 10, 2023 | - | - | 8950 | |
Apr 10, 2023 | - | - | 8980 |
Team profile of COTU Ventures
COTU Ventures has a team of 7 members including 3 Partners and 1 Venture Partner located in United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia. COTU Ventures' team does not sit on the board of any company as of now.Here is a list of all team members in COTU Ventures:
Name | Designation | Location | Board Memberships | Contact Details |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Partner | Riyadh | - | ||
Partner | Dubai | - | - | |
Partner | Dubai | - | - | |
Venture Partner | United Arab Emirates | - | - |
Co-investors of COTU Ventures
Over the past 5 years, 108 investors have co-invested in COTU Ventures's portfolio companies. This includes funds and angels.
- Invested before COTU Ventures: Y Combinator, Plug and Play Tech Center and 3 others have invested in rounds before COTU Ventures. There are 2 companies where Y Combinator has invested before COTU Ventures and 1 company where Plug and Play Tech Center has invested before COTU Ventures.
- Top Co-investors of COTU Ventures: 57 investors entered a company along with COTU Ventures. These include investors like Founders Fund (3 companies).
- Invested after COTU Ventures: A total of 46 investors have invested in COTU Ventures's portfolio after their investments. Top Investors include RZM Investment (2 companies), Tom Preston-Werner (1 company) and Dubai Future District Fund (1 company).
Recent News related to COTU Ventures
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Keep Converting Raises $2 Million to Personalize E-Commerce PagesCairoScene•Sep 09, 2026•Keep Converting, Nuwa Capital, COTU Ventures, Nuwa Capital
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Saudi Fintech Stitch Raises $25 Million in Series A Funding Led by Andreessen HorowitzentARABI•May 14, 2026•Stitch, Andreessen Horowitz, COTU Ventures, SVC and 2 others
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Safqah Capital Raises $15.2 Million in Seed Funding RoundentARABI•Feb 09, 2026•Shorooq Partners, Rua Growth Fund, Safqah Capital, ANB Capital and 9 others
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UAE-Based Qureos Raises $5M Seed to Accelerate AI-Driven HiringStartup Scene•Feb 04, 2026•Salica Investments, Oraseya Capital, Sunny Side Venture Partners, BDev Ventures and 7 others
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Founders Fund Leads $11.7M Series A for Saudi Proptech Firm MnzilStartup Story•Nov 30, 2025•BARQ, COTU Ventures, SMASCO, Sixt
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UAE’s Kingpin Raises $3.5M Seed to Expand AI DistributionStartup Scene•Nov 20, 2025•COTU Ventures, mu ventures, Infinity Ventures, Hub71 and 5 others
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Infleet raises $7.5M Series A led by Canary, Indicator, and Citrino VenturesLatamList•Sep 19, 2025•Citrino, Google, InFleet International, and 6 others
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Saudi’s Rekaz raises $5 million seed to help gyms, salons, and clinics manage bookings, subscriptions, and paymentsMENAbytes•Jul 08, 2025•Rekaz, COTU Ventures, Impact46, Shorooq Partners and 1 other
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Huspy Secures $59M Series B, Led by Balderton, for Europe & Middle East ExpansionBebeez•Jul 08, 2025•Huspy, Balderton Capital, Peak XV Partners, ExBorder Partners and 5 others
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Saudi VC Joins $10M Seed Round of Fintech Company StitchStartupNews•May 29, 2025•Stitch South Africa, Arbor Ventures, COTU Ventures, Raed Ventures
