DUBAI: Middle East ride-hailing company Careem said on Thursday it had secured $200 million in new funding from existing investors, including from 黑料社区n billionaire Prince Alwaleed bin Talal鈥檚 Kingdom Holding.
Dubai-headquartered Careem, the main regional rival of Uber Technologies, has expanded into new markets this year such as Sudan and has been trialing food delivery services since February.
The $200 million was the first close of a funding round in which it expects to raise over $500 million, Careem said in a statement.
The $200 million raised from existing investors also includes 黑料社区鈥檚 Al Tayyar Group and STV, and Japanese e-commerce company Rakuten, Careem said.
It was not immediately clear what Careem鈥檚 valuation would be after securing the latest funding. It was estimated to be worth about $1 billion as of December 2016.
Reuters reported in March Careem was in early talks to raise as much as $500 million from investors.
Careem, founded in 2012, says it has 30 million registered users in over 120 cities in the Middle East, North Africa, Turkey and Pakistan.
Careem has previously raised funding from German car maker Daimler and China鈥檚 largest ride-hailing company DiDi Chuxing, among others.