Dubai-based beauty and wellness startup AÏZA by Amaani has raised $5 million in Series A funding, led by BECO Capital with participation from Homegrown Ventures and Peak XV Partners. The capital will support the expansion of its beauty brand AÏZA across the GCC, starting with Saudi Arabia, followed by Kuwait and Qatar, alongside investment in product development, talent and technology. Founded by Shubham Poddar Amaani launched AÏZA in December 2024. The company says the brand’s net revenue grew more than 9x year on year in the first half of 2026. AÏZA has built its range around ingredients familiar across the region, including dates, black seed, frankincense, rose and bakhoor, with formulations developed in laboratories in Korea, Japan and Italy. Its products are currently sold through its own website, Ounass and Ulta Beauty Ulta Beauty in the UAE. The round adds another regional beauty brand to watch as Saudi Arabia becomes the next major market in its expansion.
Rakul Gondal
3d
AÏZA seems to be leading with heritage as the hook and global efficacy as the product which is exactly what lets it go from a GCC story to a global one. 9x growth in six months says the formula's working. This is the kind of brand that doesn't just expand across the GCC, it exports the region's beauty codes to the world. One to watch.
Congratulations to the AÏZA team on the Series A. Building a regional beauty brand around ingredients rooted in Arab heritage, and growing it from Dubai into Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Qatar, is a strong example of the UAE's role as a launchpad for GCC expansion.
The ingredient list is doing most of the brand's work here. Bakhoor, frankincense and black seed already carry everyday words on Saudi shelves, and an Arabic label that reaches for the formal term or a transliteration ends up sounding imported, which is the opposite of what those ingredients were picked to do.
Thank you Zeina Tabbara 🚀
Ayham Taki
3d
A great milestone compared to the big old players in the market! congrats Shubham Poddar
👏
9x net revenue growth in the first half of 2026 is a strong signal, but the ingredient strategy is what stands out to me. Building around dates, black seed, frankincense ingredients the GCC audience already trusts culturally removes the education barrier that most beauty brands struggle with when entering a new market. Smart positioning before the Saudi expansion.