{"id":45910,"date":"2025-05-19T19:46:14","date_gmt":"2025-05-19T16:46:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/entarabi.com\/?p=45910"},"modified":"2025-05-19T20:15:32","modified_gmt":"2025-05-19T17:15:32","slug":"vuz-raises-12m-in-pre-series-c-round-led-by-ifc-to-expand-immersive-media-reach","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/entarabi.com\/en\/2025\/05\/vuz-raises-12m-in-pre-series-c-round-led-by-ifc-to-expand-immersive-media-reach\/","title":{"rendered":"VUZ Raises $12M in Pre-Series C Round Led by IFC to Expand Immersive Media Reach"},"content":{"rendered":"<ul>\n<li dir=\"ltr\" style=\"text-align: left;\" data-start=\"241\" data-end=\"407\">VUZ secures <strong data-start=\"253\" data-end=\"292\">$12 million in Pre-Series C funding<\/strong> led by the <strong data-start=\"304\" data-end=\"347\">International Finance Corporation (IFC)<\/strong>, with participation from regional and existing investors.<\/li>\n<li dir=\"ltr\" style=\"text-align: left;\" data-start=\"241\" data-end=\"407\">The company will strengthen its presence in <strong data-start=\"454\" data-end=\"482\">Saudi Arabia and the UAE<\/strong>, and expand across <strong data-start=\"502\" data-end=\"541\">Africa, Asia, and the United States<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<li dir=\"ltr\" style=\"text-align: left;\" data-start=\"408\" data-end=\"544\">\n<p data-start=\"410\" data-end=\"544\">VUZ offers immersive <strong data-start=\"568\" data-end=\"590\">360\u00b0 video content<\/strong>, aiming to reach <strong data-start=\"608\" data-end=\"635\">5 billion views by 2026<\/strong>, with robust tools for creators and interactive commerce.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p dir=\"ltr\" data-start=\"700\" data-end=\"1072\">VUZ, the immersive video platform redefining how people experience content, has raised <strong data-start=\"810\" data-end=\"849\">$12 million in a Pre-Series C round<\/strong> led by the <strong data-start=\"861\" data-end=\"904\">International Finance Corporation (IFC)<\/strong>. The new capital will fuel the company\u2019s growth across Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and further into emerging markets such as Africa and Asia, while also scaling in the U.S.<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\" data-start=\"1074\" data-end=\"1256\">The round included participation from leading investors such as <strong data-start=\"1138\" data-end=\"1158\">AlJazira Capital<\/strong> and <strong data-start=\"1163\" data-end=\"1179\">CrossWork VC<\/strong> via Success Fund, along with returning backers and <strong data-start=\"1231\" data-end=\"1255\">Saudi family offices<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<h2 dir=\"ltr\" data-start=\"1258\" data-end=\"1294\">A New Kind of Content Experience<\/h2>\n<p dir=\"ltr\" data-start=\"1296\" data-end=\"1542\">Unlike traditional platforms like YouTube, TikTok, Twitch, or Instagram, <strong data-start=\"1369\" data-end=\"1412\">VUZ offers immersive 360\u00b0 video content<\/strong> that puts viewers &#8220;inside the experience&#8221;\u00a0 whether it\u2019s the GRAMMY Awards, La Liga football matches, or fashion shows in Dubai.<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\" data-start=\"1544\" data-end=\"1669\">VUZ content is available across mobile apps, the web, smart TVs, and VR headsets such as <strong data-start=\"1633\" data-end=\"1653\">Apple Vision Pro<\/strong> and <strong data-start=\"1658\" data-end=\"1668\">Oculus<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<h2 dir=\"ltr\" data-start=\"1671\" data-end=\"1724\">Strong Creator Ecosystem &amp; Strategic Partnerships<\/h2>\n<p dir=\"ltr\" data-start=\"1726\" data-end=\"2026\">VUZ had previously raised <strong data-start=\"1752\" data-end=\"1787\">$20 million in a Series B round<\/strong> in 2022, and secured <strong data-start=\"1809\" data-end=\"1849\">exclusive immersive streaming rights<\/strong> with La Liga and the Professional Fighters League (PFL). The platform now works with <strong data-start=\"1935\" data-end=\"1956\">over 100 creators<\/strong>, reaching a combined audience of <strong data-start=\"1990\" data-end=\"2025\">more than 100 million followers<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\" data-start=\"2028\" data-end=\"2240\">Through its in-house <strong data-start=\"2049\" data-end=\"2063\">VUZ Studio<\/strong>, the company helps creators produce immersive content faster. It also enables <strong data-start=\"2142\" data-end=\"2171\">live interactive commerce<\/strong>, allowing creators to sell products directly during live broadcasts.<\/p>\n<h2 dir=\"ltr\" data-start=\"2242\" data-end=\"2280\">Roadmap to 5 Billion Views by 2026<\/h2>\n<p dir=\"ltr\" data-start=\"2282\" data-end=\"2590\">VUZ currently operates from offices in <strong data-start=\"2321\" data-end=\"2375\">Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Egypt, Jordan, and the U.S.<\/strong> It has already launched services in <strong data-start=\"2412\" data-end=\"2441\">Egypt, Kenya, and Nigeria<\/strong>, and plans to enter <strong data-start=\"2462\" data-end=\"2478\">South Africa<\/strong> later this year. The company is also <strong data-start=\"2516\" data-end=\"2557\">building teams in India and Indonesia<\/strong> to accelerate content expansion.<\/p>\n<blockquote dir=\"ltr\" data-start=\"2592\" data-end=\"2874\">\n<p data-start=\"2594\" data-end=\"2874\"><strong data-start=\"2594\" data-end=\"2635\">Khaled Zaatarah, Founder &amp; CEO of VUZ<\/strong>, commented:<br data-start=\"2647\" data-end=\"2650\" \/>\u201cIFC saw the potential in what we\u2019re building \u2014 especially as a content-first, creator-powered platform expanding across emerging markets. Their support validates our progress and unlocks major growth opportunities ahead.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>VUZ secures $12 million in Pre-Series C funding led by the International Finance Corporation (IFC), with participation from regional and existing investors. The company will strengthen its presence in Saudi Arabia and the UAE, and expand across Africa, Asia, and the United States. VUZ offers immersive 360\u00b0 video content, aiming to reach 5 billion views [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":37,"featured_media":45907,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"post_subtitle":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1810],"tags":[3748,8361],"class_list":["post-45910","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-fintech","tag-ifc","tag-vuz-en"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/entarabi.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45910","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/entarabi.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/entarabi.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/entarabi.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/37"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/entarabi.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=45910"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/entarabi.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45910\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/entarabi.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/45907"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/entarabi.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=45910"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/entarabi.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=45910"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/entarabi.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=45910"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}