Plug and Play

Plug and Play, founded in 2006 and based in Sunnyvale, California, operates as a business accelerator and venture capital firm that focuses on early-stage and seed investments in technology startups. The firm runs 12 industry-specific accelerator programs annually, connecting startups with corporate partners and investors to foster collaboration and growth. Plug and Play's investment strategy encompasses a wide range of sectors, including fintech, health and wellness, travel, cybersecurity, and sustainability, allowing it to support diverse startups from any country. The firm provides various resources, including funding, mentorship, office space, and networking opportunities, and has a global presence with offices in North America, Europe, and Asia. Plug and Play has a strong track record, having helped numerous startups secure over $9 billion in funding since its inception. Its programs aim to refine business models and facilitate introductions to potential investors, ultimately contributing to the growth of the startup ecosystem.

Saeed Amidi

Co-Founder & Co-Chief Executive Officer

Kiswana Browne

Associate

Nick Daley

Associate

Gabriela Dow

Co-Founder and Partner

Matt Helmers

Director of Strategy and Innovation

Alex Roudi

Managing Partner, San Diego

Marc Steiner

General Counsel

Jupe Tan

Managing Partner, Asia Pacific & Senior Vice President, Global Operations

Andy Toth

Investment Director

Phillip Vincent

Managing Partner, East Asia

Fan Wen

Associate

Chen Zhao

Managing Partner, China

Past deals in Arabian Gulf

Dukkantek

Seed Round in 2022
Dukkantek provides digital transformation services to improve business processes. It offers online solutions to assist with managing and marketing strategies of companies. Dukkantek is based in Dubai, UAE.

Qashio

Pre Seed Round in 2022
Qashio is a spend management platform that allows people to monitor costs, make payments with app credit cards, and handle payables. Qashio's solution allows users o create physical or virtual cards, disburse budgets, grant or restrict employee usage, set approval layers, and verify spending. Companies can track card usage and analyze and report spending, in real time. Qashio eliminates the challenges of managing company spending and removes outdated, manual processes. Founded in 2021 and is based in Dubai.

Dukkantek

Convertible Note in 2021
Dukkantek provides digital transformation services to improve business processes. It offers online solutions to assist with managing and marketing strategies of companies. Dukkantek is based in Dubai, UAE.

Jingle Pay

Convertible Note in 2021
Jingle Pay is a social payment application designed for both individuals and enterprises, focusing on financial inclusion in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) region. It provides a fee-free current account and a multi-currency wallet that facilitates remittance, currency exchange, and peer-to-peer payments, including features for splitting and sharing expenses. Additionally, Jingle Pay offers nano financing, payment processing, and both open and closed-loop offline card payment solutions. By partnering with established financial institutions and technology companies, Jingle Pay empowers users with easy access to a range of financial services, including instant money transfers and other value-added services.

Huspy

Seed Round in 2021
Huspy is a technology company based in Dubai, UAE, that specializes in simplifying the mortgage process for home buyers. Founded in 2020, Huspy offers an online platform designed to streamline the home buying and selling experience, making it more accessible and cost-effective. By removing the need for paperwork, the platform allows families to secure home loans easily through its web and mobile applications. Huspy aims to reimagine the home buying journey, prioritizing the needs of buyers and celebrating the achievement of obtaining a mortgage.

Bessern

Seed Round in 2021
Bessern is a provider of leadership development and training services focused on enhancing organizational learning and performance through technology and behavioral science. The company offers an online Transformation Platform that integrates on-demand services with personalized coaching, allowing organizations to implement change programs that are measurable and aligned with how the brain functions. Bessern’s Thrive in Change programs have successfully aided organizations worldwide in improving productivity, adapting to change during volatile periods, and fostering healthy habits for employee well-being. Additionally, Bessern has established the first technology platform in the Middle East designed to measure and enhance performance and well-being within corporations. Employees can learn and practice healthy micro-behaviors, track their progress, and access individual support when necessary, ultimately equipping them with the mindset and skills required for personal growth and team leadership.

Penny Software

Seed Round in 2020
Penny Software, founded in 2020 and based in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, specializes in developing a cloud-based procure-to-pay system known as Penny. This platform streamlines the entire procurement process, enabling organizations to digitize and manage their procurement cycle from request to approval. Key features of Penny include an action-driven dashboard, budget tracking, customizable reporting, a product comparison tool, and a structured timeline. The system is designed to simplify procurement activities, allowing users to manage requests for quotations, compare vendor offers, issue purchase orders, and process payments efficiently. Penny Software caters primarily to mid-sized enterprises, offering a modular and customizable solution that supports both private and public marketplaces, as well as procurement shared services.

Vymo

Series B in 2020
Vymo Solutions Private Limited develops a software application focused on enhancing sales automation and field force productivity. The company offers various solutions, including lead management, partner management, relationship management, service management, and merchant onboarding. By leveraging contextual signals such as location, phone calls, calendar events, and lead sources, Vymo helps sales representatives prioritize their actions effectively. Its services incorporate artificial intelligence, geo tracking, activity detection, live sales metrics, and analytics reporting. Vymo primarily serves the banking and insurance sectors and was founded in 2013, with its headquarters in Bengaluru, India, and additional offices in locations such as Australia, New York, Hong Kong, Dubai, and Singapore.

Dapi

Convertible Note in 2020
Dapi Ltd is a fintech company that specializes in developing application programming interfaces (APIs) to facilitate payments between consumer bank accounts and businesses. Founded in 2019 and headquartered in Abu Dhabi, the company provides a suite of open banking APIs designed to connect customer bank accounts, initiate payments, and access financial data in real-time. Dapi acts as an intermediary between financial applications and banks, enabling developers to create solutions such as digital wallets, budget trackers, and investment applications. Its services allow fintech companies to initiate payments through banks and offer financial services based on customer bank statement data. Dapi operates in multiple countries, including the United States, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Pakistan, South Africa, and Kuwait, and has demonstrated significant demand for its offerings, achieving substantial growth in annual recurring revenue.

SafarPass

Venture Round in 2019
Founded in 2019 with the goal to take the business travel experience to the next level. SafarPass is a SaaS platform for Business Travel & Expense automation. Built from the ground-up with one simple mission, to make business travel seamless and a hassle-free experience. SafarPass offers the largest bookable inventory of flights and hotels where business travelers can book flights, hotels and automate expenses on-the-go via a single app. One app, One invoice! SafarPass uses big data to analyze pricing and suggest the most cost-effective ways to travel while saving companies up 20% in their travel budget. The platform offers advanced tools for HR managers & CFOs to predict budgets, track spending in real-time, define corporate policy/workflow approvals as well as manage team members in an easy and simple way.

VUZ

Seed Round in 2017
360VUZ is a mobile application that specializes in 360-degree live video streaming, providing users with immersive virtual reality experiences. Founded in 2017 and based in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, the app delivers both live and on-demand 360 video content, focusing on events such as sporting competitions, concerts, and exclusive appearances by influencers. It has gained significant popularity, ranking first in the Entertainment category on app stores and surpassing established platforms. With over four million users, 360VUZ is recognized for its exceptional video quality and innovative technology, holding more than two patents. The company aims to establish a comprehensive ecosystem for video and virtual reality, making such experiences mainstream.

Sha-Sha

Seed Round in 2012
Sha-Sha is a subscription-based video on demand service that delivers content from Hollywood and the Arab world. Subscribers gain access to various movies and TV shows with their subscriptions. Sha-Sha was launched by Mohammad Saadi and Mohamed Fathallah, and is operated from Dubai, United Arab Emirates.

Telly

Angel Round in 2008
Telly, Inc. operates a Web-video discovery platform. The company offers Telly, a solution to share and discover videos; and Telly Plus, a premium content service that allows users to stream movies and television shows to their iOS and Android mobile devices, and computers. It serves customers primarily in Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Qatar, Oman, Lebanon, Jordan, Egypt, Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Iraq, and Yemen. Telly, Inc. was formerly known as TwitVid, Inc. and changed its name to Telly, Inc. in June 2012. The company was founded in 2007 and is based in San Francisco, California.