Careem Buys RoundMenu To Launch Food Delivery Service

Careem, the ride-hailing company based in the Middle East and an Uber rival, announced Sunday (Feb. 18) that it acquired RoundMenu, the restaurant listing and reservation platform.

According to a report in Reuters, with the acquisition, Careem will begin testing food delivery services via RoundMenu sometime in February. “Careem will begin testing a delivery capability for RoundMenu customers on a small scale later this month,” it said in a statement to Reuters.

The report noted RoundMenu is in 18 cities in nine Arab countries such as Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, and Egypt. Other food delivery players in the region include Talabat, Zomato, UberEats, and Deliveroo. RoundMenu has raised $3.1 million since going live in 2012, Careem told Reuters in the statement.

In June, Careem reportedly raised $150 million, closing a Series E venture capital funding round with $500 million raised. According to a report in TechCrunch, with the new funding round, Mudassir Sheikha, Careem co-founder and CEO, said the company’s valuation now stands at $1 billion. A separate source told TechCrunch the valuation is now $1.2 billion.

The latest round of funding is being led Saudi-based Kingdom Holding, the venture capital firm that also backs Lyft and was an investor in both Twitter and Snap ahead of their initial public offering. Daimler, the German car maker, DCM Ventures and Coatue Management also participated in the round of venture capital investing.

“With our investment in Careem, we are now taking the strategic step to becoming the world’s leading provider of mobility services,” Klaus Entenmann, CEO, Daimler Financial Services AG, said in a statement to TechCrunch at the time. “Careem has quickly leapt to the leadership of ridesharing within the MENA regions by delivering rapid innovation and customer growth, and it is spearheading new ways to transport people from point A to point B.”