News

Hotel Cloud Kitchen Startup Matbakhi Launches In Saudi Arabia

The platform will help Saudi Arabian hotels tap into a $4.71 billion online food delivery market as the Kingdom pursues ambitions of becoming a Top 10 tourist destination.

Published

2 years ago

December 20, 2022

Nour Nasir

Matbakhi

Matbakhi, a food technology startup, has become the latest addition to Saudi Arabia’s booming catering sector after setting up a headquarters in Riyadh.

Matbakhi’s premise is simple yet innovative: The company helps hotels turn their unused kitchen spaces into revenue generators, upgrading their menus with fresh, creative offerings from young, up-and-coming local chefs. The idea is to give local talent a platform and help chefs build their brands, while simultaneously offering a delivery service to bring the meals to different neighborhoods.

“The way food is conceptualized, sourced, cooked, delivered, and consumed is evolving by the minute in line with the preferences of highly aware and increasingly knowledgeable consumers. Keeping these customers at the heart of everything we do, Matbakhi aims to make the food you want accessible and convenient to order, and ensure that it is delivered to your doorstep in minutes while you’re still looking forward to that taste and experience,” says Joe Frem, co-founder and CEO of Matbakhi.

Also Read: Egypt’s Tech Startup OneOrder Raises $3M In Funding

Matbakhi’s cloud kitchens are effectively a plug-and-play service for hotels. The company offers everything from procurement to staff, helping to raise the profile of local chefs while enhancing the revenue and marketing reach of the hotels hosting the service.

The company’s novel business model will create unique opportunities within Saudi Arabia’s buoyant hospitality sector, especially as the Kingdom plans to become a Top 10 global tourist destination by 2030.

With help from Matbakhi, the hotel food and beverage sector could be transformed entirely, blending seamlessly into the online food delivery market, which, according to a report from Innovius Research, is predicted to be worth a staggering $8.8 billion in value by 2028.

News

Yango Enhances Yasmina AI For Improved Conversations

The tech company has upgraded its AI assistant to deliver enhanced creativity, deeper conversations, and advanced bilingual translation.

Published

4 days ago

June 12, 2025

Nour Nasir

Yango

Global technology company Yango Group has announced a significant upgrade to the large language model (LLM) powering its AI assistant, Yasmina. This enhancement allows Yasmina to deliver more accurate, nuanced, and context-aware responses in Arabic and English, improving interactions and user experience across the Middle East region.

The upgrade is part of a phased rollout of YangoAI, the company’s suite of advanced AI technologies specifically adapted to regional needs. As a result, Yasmina now offers 38% more accurate and timely responses in Arabic, made possible by an enhanced ability to analyze web documents. Additionally, unnecessary answer refusals have been reduced by almost 50%, ensuring smoother and more engaging conversational experiences.

One of the most notable new capabilities of Yasmina is its expanded bilingual translation skill. The improved assistant empowers bilingual users, educators, language learners, and content creators to seamlessly translate conversations between Arabic and English, facilitating better communication and understanding.

Beyond translation, Yasmina can now provide highly contextual recommendations for everyday activities and lifestyle choices. Users seeking personalized suggestions — for instance, how to spend a day in Dubai exploring both modern and traditional attractions — will experience enhanced clarity and precision from the assistant.

The assistant’s upgraded functionality also aids users with tasks such as real-time currency conversion, homework support that encourages independent thinking, creative brainstorming, poetry and storytelling, and even providing riddles suitable for children.

Also Read: ALJ & Joby Aviation To Bring Electric Air Taxis To Saudi Arabia

“With more precise and culturally aware responses, along with additional skills, Yasmina’s latest upgrade positions it as a trusted everyday companion,” said Rami Abu Arja, Senior Innovation Marketing Manager at Yasmina, Yango Middle East. “From creative storytelling to translation, we are enriching lives with human-centered AI and making innovation more accessible to all. As the region embraces digital transformation, we continue to enhance our AI assistant, aiming to make it even more helpful, versatile, and relevant”.

YangoAI’s continuous training on region-specific data ensures that Yasmina and other Yango services authentically reflect local culture and user expectations across the Middle East.