The round was led by Balderton Capital, a repeat backer, with participation from high-profile investors including Founders Fund, Peak XV Partners, ExBorder Partners, COTU Ventures, and others. The capital injection will support Huspy’s move into Saudi Arabia and expand its footprint across key European cities.

For a startup operating in a sector weighed down by high interest rates and struggling valuations, this funding success is a notable vote of confidence. 

While companies like Opendoor and Compass have seen their momentum slow in the U.S., Huspy has managed to cut through the noise by identifying structural inefficiencies and turning them into scalable opportunities.

In five years, the company has grown from a Dubai-based solution to one of the most prevalent players in the UAE mortgage market, capturing 30% market share, including a 25% in Dubai alone. 

Its entry into Spain in 2022 has also shown commendable results, with the company now ranked among the top three real estate firms by transaction volume in Valencia, and reporting 20x year-on-year growth.

Jad Antoun, Huspy’s CEO and co-founder, built the company on lessons learned from the overly complex and manual mortgage system in the UAE. By partnering with banks and offering digital pre-approvals, Huspy reduced friction for both buyers and brokers. Speaking on the company’s expansion strategy, Antoun said:

“I think it’s going to be difficult for someone to compete on the mortgage product specifically across both markets. We’ve just been here longer, and in Spain, we have better efficiency.”

Instead of building traditional brokerages or holding inventory like iBuyers, Huspy runs a platform-based model that connects freelance agents with vetted property leads and provides them with digital tools, CRM systems, and integrated mortgage products. 

The result is a low-overhead operation, more Uber than Zillow, that allows Huspy to scale efficiently across multiple cities.

Rana Yared, general partner at Balderton Capital, noted the firm’s confidence in Huspy’s model, saying: “Huspy has built a repeatable and efficient playbook for city launches, and their pace of innovation — especially around AI tools for brokers and agents, continues to raise the bar for the entire industry.”

Huspy claims to have helped over 25,000 people buy homes, driven over $7 billion in transaction volume, and grown its revenue more than tenfold since 2022. Its monetisation relies on success fees and commissions from partner banks and agents.

With operations already running in six Spanish cities and plans to expand into over 10 more by the end of 2025, Huspy is chasing a bigger vision to dominate the real estate transaction and mortgage value chain across the Middle East and Europe, markets often underserved by tech-enabled solutions.

Deputy CEO Ziad Nassar is leading the company’s European expansion, while Antoun continues to anchor operations from the UAE.

Their strategy is to focus on cities where agent productivity is low but transaction volume is high, build strong partnerships with marketplaces and banks, and deploy digital tools to improve agent performance.

Targeted at supporting startups across the Middle East, COTU Ventures Fund focuses particularly on pre-seed to seed stages of development.

Led by founder and general partner Amir Farha, COTU Ventures aims to provide strategic investments and support to promising entrepreneurs in the region.

Established last year, the firm has been actively investing in startups across the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) region, with a primary focus on countries like the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and Pakistan.

The firm has already backed over 20 early-stage startups spanning various sectors, enhancing innovation and entrepreneurship in the Middle East.

Amir Farha highlighted the company’s inclination towards fintech and B2B software, noting important opportunities for growth and innovation in these areas.

However, the firm remains open to exploring investment opportunities across diverse sectors, leveraging its expertise and network to identify high-potential ventures.

Reflecting on the evolving investment industry in the region, Farha emphasized the importance of providing comprehensive support to startups beyond just financial backing.

Drawing from his experience at BECO Capital, where he was involved in early-stage investments, Farha recognized the need for dedicated support at the earliest stages of startup development.

At the firm, Farha and his team prioritize building strong relationships with founders, understanding their personal and professional journeys, and offering guidance on various aspects of business development. In promoting trust with entrepreneurs, COTU Ventures aims to become a trusted partner for startups as it scales the challenges of growth and expansion.

COTU Ventures’ limited partners include Lunate, Mubadala, Dubai Future District Fund, Arab Bank, Bupa KSA, as well as leading venture capital firms and family offices. The support from these partners emphasizes the confidence in COTU Ventures’ leadership and its potential to drive innovation and entrepreneurship in the Middle East.