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UAE Fintech Qashio Raises $19.8M For Regional Expansion
The Dubai-based fintech will use the cash injection to expand its B2B spend management platform and loyalty program across the MENA and Europe.
Dubai-headquartered fintech Qashio has raised $19.8 million in its latest funding round, paving the way for continued geographic expansion and growth of its industry-leading B2B loyalty ecosystem. Already operating in 22 countries — including the UAE, Europe, and the UK — the company will use the new capital to support its imminent entry into Saudi Arabia and strengthen regulatory compliance.
The funding, comprising equity and non-equity sources, was led by existing Silicon Valley-based investor Rocketship. Qashio’s consistent growth, demonstrated by over 800% year-on-year revenue increases for three consecutive years, reflects the platform’s rising dominance in B2B expense management solutions.
In addition to Rocketship, several existing investors including ABN Ventures, MITAA, and Oneway VC reaffirmed their support. The round also welcomed strategic new backers, such as Luxembourg-based MoreThan Capital, prominent regional banks, and several family offices from across the region.
“We invested in Qashio because of their bold vision to modernize spend management in the Middle East, a region ripe for financial innovation,” said Sailesh Ramakrishnan, Managing Partner at Rocketship. “They’re not just solving a pain point, but transforming how companies operate and scale”.
Unlike traditional corporate cash back programs, Qashio’s loyalty network uniquely features premium partners like Emirates, Air France, KLM, Avios (British Airways, Iberia, Finnair), US Airways, and elite hotel groups including Jumeirah One, Accor, and IHG Intercontinental Hotel Group. These high-value rewards differentiate Qashio from competitors, enhancing its appeal to businesses that previously had limited access to such exclusive benefits.
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“At Qashio, we understand change often meets resistance, especially when shifting from manual processes,” said Armin Moradi, CEO and Co-founder. “Our loyalty program is designed to reward positive financial management behaviors with meaningful incentives like air miles and hotel points — rewards that are typically hard to obtain. Coupled with transparent pricing, lowest cross-border fees, and unmatched cashbacks without restrictive conditions, we empower businesses to embrace streamlined financial management”.
With profitability achieved — earning over $1.2 million in the first quarter of 2025 — Qashio’s fresh capital infusion positions the fintech leader to further accelerate its ambitious growth across MENA and into European markets.
News
Samsung’s Galaxy Watch 9 And Ultra 2 Specs Leak Ahead Of Unpacked
An 800mAh Ultra 2 battery and a switch from Exynos to Qualcomm silicon headline the expected changes for Samsung’s next smartwatches.
Samsung’s next smartwatches have little left to hide. A new leak reported by Android Authority has surfaced most of the remaining details about the Galaxy Watch 9 and Galaxy Watch Ultra 2, just over a week before the company’s Galaxy Unpacked event on July 22.
The biggest change is an invisible one: Samsung is expected to drop its own Exynos W1000 chip in favor of Qualcomm’s Snapdragon Wear Elite SW6100, a chipset unveiled only this year, according to the outlet.
Battery capacity looks like the other notable upgrade. Citing a report from Winfuture, Android Authority says the Watch Ultra 2 could reach 800mAh, well beyond the 590mAh cell in the current Watch Ultra. The 44mm Watch 9 reportedly gets a 445mAh cell — the same capacity as last year’s Watch 8 Classic — while the 40mm model stays at 325mAh.
The 40mm Watch 9 will reportedly feature a 438 x 438-pixel panel, with the 44mm Watch 9 and the Watch Ultra 2 sharing a larger 480 x 480-pixel screen. Samsung leaker Ice Universe has separately claimed the Ultra 2’s display could reach a peak brightness of 5,000 nits. RAM and storage vary by model, topping out at 2GB and 64GB.
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The Ultra 2 keeps its titanium case and 100-meter water resistance; the standard Watch 9 remains aluminum, rated to 5 ATM. All models are said to include Bluetooth 6.0, NFC, and dual-band WiFi, with the usual LTE variants, and ship with One UI 9 Watch running on Wear OS 7.
A separate leak puts the Galaxy Watch 9 at €409 (about $468) for the 40mm Bluetooth model, rising to €489 (about $560) for the 44mm LTE version, with the Watch Ultra 2 LTE at €749 (about $857) — figures Android Authority said were partially corroborated by Winfuture. Confirmation arrives on stage on July 22.
