AI-Driven E-Commerce Startup, Founded by Google and DeepMind Alumni, Secures $10M in Seed Funding
Artificial Intelligence is revolutionizing online shopping by personalizing the customer experience. Intelligent assistants now recommend products, negotiate prices, and manage customer service inquiries. Both large retailers and smaller enterprises are leveraging AI to enhance search capabilities, optimize supply chains, and streamline the checkout process.
If AI firms and their backers succeed, the future of shopping may revolve around engaging in conversation with a virtual assistant, with businesses automating numerous processes in the background.
Based in Dubai, Qeen.ai (stylized as qeen.ai) aims to bring this vision to fruition in the Middle East and beyond. The startup recently secured $10 million to expand its platform, which offers autonomous AI agents to e-commerce businesses.
Prosus Ventures, a prominent investor in e-commerce, led this seed funding round, marking it as one of the largest in the Middle East’s AI sector and across MENA. The venture capital firm believes Qeen.ai is on track to introduce AI-driven automation for merchants as AI agents transform online marketplaces.
The founders of Qeen, Morteza Ibrahimi (CEO), Ahmad Khwlieh (CTO), and Dina Alsamhan (CBO), launched the startup after extensive experience in AI at Google and DeepMind.
In a conversation with TechCrunch, Ibrahimi mentioned that they chose to focus on e-commerce partly due to opportunity: all three had held positions in Google Ads during their tenure with the tech giant, witnessing how other alumni successfully built e-commerce businesses. Coupled with their AI expertise, the trio understood advertising and SEO optimization well, recognizing it as a potent combination.
Background from Google and DeepMind
E-commerce has been consistently on the rise for years. However, aside from certain peaks (especially during the holiday seasons), it continues to account for only about 15% to 20% of retail sales. Even in a mature market like the U.S., it was just over 16% at the last quarter, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
Qeen’s premise suggests that this figure could increase if e-commerce processes are executed more effectively. They believe that success in online commerce should hinge on great products and operational efficiency rather than merely exploiting the advertising system. This realization inspired them to create a platform that supports e-commerce sellers in growing their businesses without solely depending on ads.
The global e-commerce market is rapidly expanding, fueled by shifting consumer behavior, the rise of digital payments, and enhanced logistics. In the MENA region, the market is projected to reach $50 billion by 2025, with Saudi Arabia and the UAE leading the charge.
Qeen.ai is capitalizing on this growth by developing AI-driven marketing agents tailored for e-commerce businesses throughout MENA. These fully automated agents manage content creation, marketing, and conversational sales, enabling small and medium-sized retailers to compete effectively without needing costly agencies or extensive advertising knowledge.
In contrast to traditional solutions, Qeen’s AI continuously adapts from consumer interactions through its proprietary RL-UI technology, optimizing marketing strategies in real-time for superior outcomes.
Transitioning from Google Ads to AI-Enhanced E-commerce
While many AI-driven sales and customer service tools face high churn rates due to businesses frequently changing platforms, Qeen.ai reports stronger retention rates in e-commerce and marketing. Ibrahimi attributes this to the deep integration of Qeen’s AI agents within merchants’ operations, making them an essential part of daily business functions rather than disposable tools.
A standout feature fostering user engagement is dynamic text personalization, which tailors content according to user behavior and device type. For instance, an iPhone user may view product details as bullet points for quick comprehension, while a laptop user receives a more in-depth paragraph.
Since the launch of its Dynamic Content agent in Q2 2024, Qeen.ai has already assisted over 15 million users, generated 1 million SKU descriptions, and helped merchants boost their sales by 30%, as reported by the company.
“We collaborated with a client to enhance their content and SEO. Following the adoption of our AI plugins, their search volume increased by 40%, and their Google ranking improved from 22 to 18—all without any manual effort. The entire process was fully autonomous,” stated Ibrahimi, showcasing another instance of Qeen’s AI prowess.
Qeen operates on a subscription-based pricing model that incorporates value-based pricing, a burgeoning trend in AI services. Presently, Qeen earns revenue from two subscription tiers: content automation, where businesses pay for each active SKU, generally between $0.10 and $0.20 per SKU monthly, and from its AI marketing agent, which charges based on interaction volume.
Ibrahimi did not disclose specific numbers regarding the businesses using Qeen or revenue growth metrics, but notable clients include Dubai Store, 6th Street, and Jumia.
Distinguishing Itself with Talent
Ibrahimi departed DeepMind in early 2023 to co-found Qeen. That same year, the company secured a $2 million pre-seed round prior to launching its product in June 2024. With the recent $10 million seed funding, Qeen has raised a total of $12 million within a year.
Throughout this period, AI-driven marketing agents have gained traction globally, with numerous startups, especially in the U.S. and Europe, venturing into the market. Competitors such as YC-backed Unusual and Rankai are addressing similar challenges, so how does Qeen differentiate itself?
For starters, many of these AI startups are primarily focused on developed markets, while Qeen is specifically concentrating on the Middle East first—an area largely underserved by AI-driven marketing automation solutions. According to Ibrahimi, Qeen aims to serve small businesses across MENA, establish a robust presence, and then enlarge its scope internationally.
The co-founders’ deep tech expertise and a strong talent pool provide Qeen with a competitive advantage over new entrants, as noted by the CEO. Two of its co-founders hold PhDs in AI from over ten years ago, well before AI became widely recognized. Ibrahimi himself previously led a research team at DeepMind that specialized in self-learning, goal-driven AI agents—the same technology currently fueling Qeen.
“One of the most exhilarating aspects we’ve observed is the caliber of AI talent available here,” Ibrahimi remarked. “We’ve attracted excellent talent from both local and international backgrounds—individuals have relocated from the Bay Area, Europe, and the UK to join us in building this venture.”
Qeen.ai currently employs more than 25 individuals across the UAE and Jordan.
The recent seed funding will aid Qeen in executing its growth strategy, expanding its AI platform, scaling its workforce, and attracting additional customers. Other investors in this round include Wamda Capital, 10X Founders Fund, and Dara Holdings.