Dubai-based eyewear startup Eyewa has quietly secured fresh funding from prominent US private equity firm General Atlantic, according to a report by The Information on Tuesday. This investment was made earlier this year but has not yet been publicly disclosed by the involved parties. Details of the funding round, including its size and any additional investors, remain unclear.
The last publicly announced funding for Eyewa was a $21 million Series B round in June 2021, led by Kingsway and Nuwa Capital.
Since then, Eyewa has experienced significant growth, expanding its store network to over 120 locations, nearly 100 of which are in Saudi Arabia. The startup opened its first store in 2021 in Dhahran.
Mehdi Oudghiri, co-founder and co-CEO of Eyewa, previously told MENAbytes that the company expanded into physical retail to better connect with customers. “We started as an e-commerce company because that was where the biggest market gap existed; no one was offering high-quality and affordable eyewear products online with a good customer experience. Expanding to offline stores complements our strong online presence and solidifies our position as a leading player in the eyewear industry,” he explained.
Founded in 2017 by Mehdi Oudghiri and Anass Boumediene, Eyewa sells a variety of eyewear products, including prescription glasses, sunglasses, blue light glasses, color contact lenses, and corrective contact lenses through its website, mobile apps, and retail stores. The company offers products from its in-house brands such as Blackout, Layala, and 30Sundays, as well as international fashion brands like Hugo, Tommy Hilfiger, and Guess.
Eyewa operates across the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries, maintaining both retail and online presence in all six markets in the region. According to its website, Eyewa is the largest online eyewear retailer in the GCC.
This investment marks General Atlantic’s second venture in the region, following its $120 million lead investment in proptech startup Property Finder in 2018.
