Middle East e-commerce platform noon has raised $500 million in new funding from existing backers, including Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF), as the company moves closer to a potential initial public offering, according to people familiar with the matter.
The round also included participation from noon’s founder, Mohammed Alabbar, chairman of Dubai-based real estate developer Emaar Properties. The sources declined to be named, as the information is not public. A spokesperson for PIF declined to comment, while noon and Alabbar did not respond to requests for comment.
Founded in 2016, noon operates an online marketplace alongside food delivery and online grocery services across Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and Egypt. The company launched shortly after Amazon acquired Dubai-based Souq.com for $580 million and has since positioned itself as a regional challenger to global e-commerce players.
The funding comes amid intensifying competition in the region, as Amazon expands into groceries, China’s Meituan launches food delivery and dark-store operations in the Middle East, and Saudi-based Ninja scales its quick-commerce model following a $250 million raise earlier this year. These dynamics have fuelled price competition as platforms vie for market share.
Noon has raised $2.7 billion to date and was last valued at close to $10 billion, Alabbar told the Financial Times in September. The company is targeting a potential IPO within the next two years.
