News

Retail Enablement Company Zid Raises $50 Million

Saudi-based retail enablement company, Zid, has successfully raised $50 million in a funding drive led by IMPACT46.

Published

2 years ago

October 18, 2022

retail enablement company zid raises $50 million

Zid, the Saudi Arabian retail enablement company, has seen investment from the likes of Aramco venture capital arm (Waed Ventures) and Endeavor Catalyst in a recent round of fundraising, led by IMPACT46, paving the way for future expansion into new markets and helping to further modernize the retail sector.

The recent funding comes after a string of successes for Zid, after the company doubled its revenues from both subscriptions and transactions, as well as seeing a 50% increase in orders, with 7 million users now having made transactions through the platform.

Zid was created to enable merchants to grow their online selling channels. It is now taking on a broader mission to modernize the entire retail sector, improving efficiencies and helping business owners increase their profits.

The company has rolled out solutions enabling retailers to improve both shipping (ZidShip) and payments (ZidPay) and plans to offer financial and cross-border shipping products in the near future.

Also Read: Aramex Has Successfully Tested Drone Deliveries In Oman

“We appreciate the continuous belief and trust that our investors have put into the company, the leadership, and the team. We are focused on being the regional optimum solution for each economy we operate in, having proved it in Saudi Arabia,” says Sultan AlAsmi, Co-founder and CEO of Zid.

Like international giants such as Shopify, Zid is building a community that enables merchants to master online selling with a full-fledged eCommerce ecosystem equipped with sophisticated features. Unlike larger corporations, however, Zid is focused on fostering deep connections with merchants and strengthening the community as a whole. After completing the recent round of funding with help from asset management and advisory organization IMPACT46, the future looks bright for this progressive retail enablement company.

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

3 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.