News

Huspy Raises $37 Million To Accelerate Expansion Across EMEA

The company wants to use the funds to invest in technology development, expand into new markets across Europe, and boost growth in regions where it already operates.

Published

3 years ago

June 23, 2022

David Morelo

Huspy

PropTech startup Huspy has just raised $37 million in a Series A funding led by Sequoia Capital India.

Also participating in the round of venture capital financing were California-headquartered venture capital firms Founders Fund, Fifth Wall, and Chimera Capital, which joined returning investors Breyer Capital, BY Venture Partners, COTU, VentureFriends, and Venture Souq.

The company wants to use the funds to invest in technology development, expand into new markets across Europe, and boost growth in regions where it already operates.

huspy team group picture

“In just under two years, Huspy has grown to become one of the largest property platforms, facilitating billions of dollars in volume. Today, we’re humbled to partner with global and regional investors, and we look forward to working together to reshape the world’s largest asset class,” said Jad Antoun, co-founder & CEO of Huspy.

Launched in 2020, Huspy strives to streamline the home buying experience by creating a modern platform connecting home buyers with leading property agents and trusted financial institutions.

It took Huspy just one year of operations to become the leading mortgage provider in the United Arab Emirates, with an annual run rate of more than 1 billion USD.

Also Read: UAE To Punish Crypto Scammers With Fines & Jail Time

The startup has successfully recruited talent from some of the world’s top tech companies, including Compass, Gympass, Loft, Loggi, Microsoft, Quinto Andar, SumUp, and Uber. It also employs a team of brokers with over 20 years of experience working for banks like Emirates NBD, RAKBANK, ADIB, and DIB.

“In a short span of time, the company has demonstrated its strong value proposition for the real estate ecosystem and has become the market leader in mortgage broking in the UAE with healthy unit economics,” commented GV Ravishankar, MD, Sequoia India.

The PropTech market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 16.8% between 2022-2032 as startups and incumbent real estate companies use modern technology to make the home buying experience less stressful.

News

Truecaller For iPhone Gets Real-Time Caller ID And Auto Spam Blocking

The latest update integrates with Apple’s Live Caller ID Lookup framework, launched with iOS 18 last year.

Published

2 hours ago

January 23, 2025

Nour Nasir

Truecaller

Truecaller has rolled out a major update for iPhone users, introducing API support that brings real-time caller identification and automatic spam blocking. The upgrade aims to bring the iOS version of the app closer to its Android counterpart, which has long offered these advanced call-screening features.

The latest update integrates with Apple’s Live Caller ID Lookup framework, launched with iOS 18 last year. The technology allows third-party apps to cross-check incoming calls against a database of known spam numbers in real-time. Importantly, the process employs “homomorphic encryption,” ensuring user privacy by masking the caller’s number, concealing the client’s IP address, and using anonymous authentication.

With this update, Truecaller has also introduced global automatic spam call blocking for iPhones. However, the real-time caller ID feature is being released gradually and is available only to Truecaller Premium subscribers on iPhones running iOS 18.2 or later. Free users will still have access to ad-supported features, such as manual number searches and caller identification for verified businesses.

How To Enable The New Features

To activate the new features, follow these steps:

Update the Truecaller app to version 14.0 or newer via the App Store.
Go to Settings > Apps > Phone > Call Blocking & Identification on your iPhone.
Turn on all Truecaller toggles, then restart the app.

Also Read: “AI Seal” Certification Now Required For Dubai Gov Partnerships

While these features are new to iOS, Truecaller has hinted at this update for months. Following Apple’s iOS 18 update and the introduction of its Live Caller ID API last September, Truecaller Co-founder Alan Mamedi shared his excitement on X (formerly Twitter), saying, “Truecaller finally works on iPhone”.

The global rollout of spam call blocking is already live, but users may need to wait for gradual access to the live caller ID feature.