Labby raises $10M in first foreign VC deal for a Syrian startup

Syrian super app Labby has raised $10 million from a consortium of UAE and Saudi investors, a transaction Syrian officials describe as the first direct foreign investment in a Syrian technology startup.

Founded in 2024 by Mohammad Fawaz, Labby integrates ride-hailing, food delivery, e-commerce, digital payments, and other on-demand services into a single platform serving consumers across Syria. The company positions its app as a way to simplify everyday digital transactions in a market where such infrastructure is still taking shape.

The round matters beyond its size. For global buyers and partners tracking emerging digital markets, the deal signals that regional Gulf investors are beginning to underwrite Syrian technology companies directly, not just infrastructure or aid-adjacent projects.

Labby will use the capital for product development, service expansion, technology infrastructure, and scaling operations inside Syria — a domestic-first growth thesis that, if executed, creates a user base and data asset with few local comparables.

Whether this opens a corridor for further cross-border startup investment into Syria is now a live question, and one that the ecosystem’s next six months will answer. The company will also put funds toward talent acquisition and product innovation as it scales.