- Noon raised USD 500M in new funding, reportedly backed by Saudi Arabia’s PIF, as the MENA e-commerce player moves toward a potential IPO.
- The fresh capital comes as the e-commerce company faces competition in the Gulf’s fast-growing online retail market.
- It is also rolling out autonomous robot deliveries in Dubai through a partnership with Yango, starting with noon Minutes customers.
Noon
MENA e-commerce giant, Noon, raised USD 500 million in new funding. It is said that the financing came from Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund, PIF. The e-commerce giant is working towards a potential initial public offering (IPO).
In September 2025, in an interview with the Financial Times, Noon founder and chair Mohamed Alabbar said that a listing was possible within 24 months. Furthermore, the group plans to list in both Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.
The funding comes amid the e-commerce platform facing increasing competition from local and international rivals.
Founded in 2016, Mohamed Alabbar started Noon with an investment from Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund. This was in an effort to challenge local and online shopping players.
Autonomous Delivery
This comes, simultaneously, as it is now pushing autonomous delivery. The e-commerce giant recently partnered with Yango Group to deploy and scale autonomous robot delivery across the region.
The partnership begins with autonomous deliveries for noon Minutes customers. It will first focus on deploying the service to communities across Dubai. In the long term, it aims to scale across the UAE and wider GCC region, after it receives feedback from the initial deployment.
As the first commercial rollout under the partnership, Yango Autonomy’s fully electric robots are fulfilling quick-commerce orders from noon Minutes in Sobha Hartland community. Residents can now select the noon Minutes delivery robot option directly in the app at checkout. They can also track the robot’s progress in real time on the map and unlock its secure compartment upon arrival using their smartphone.
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