Pakistani startup Airlift secures $85m in the largest-ever funding round for a Pakistani startup
The financing is about twice the size of the largest private company IPO in Pakistan’s history and the highest in the MENA region.
The Series B financing was led by some of the most iconic investors on the globe, such as Josh Buckley (Buckley Ventures) and Harry Stebbings (20VC).
Other major participants included Sam Altman (ex-President YCombinator), Biz Stone (Co-founder at Twitter / Medium), Jeffrey Katzenberg (ex-CEO, Disney), Taavet Hinrikus (Founder/CEO at TransferWise), and Seve Pagliuca (Co-Chairman, Bain Capital).
The Lahore-headquartered quick commerce startup has set a new precedent that will bring world-class investors to Pakistan.
With this funding, the startup has added 5% to Pakistan’s FDI for the Fiscal year 2021.
Co-Founder and CEO of Airlift Usman Gul said, “A year ago, Airlift halted operations on the transit service and diversified into last-mile grocery delivery. Today, our team closed $85m in Series B financing to scale our delivery platform across continents.”
He believes that it is important as Pakistanis to stay true to “our core values of hustle, teamwork, resourcefulness, and bias to action.”
He says that this is only the first step, and there is a lot more to come.
Airlift’s achievement will put Pakistan on the map for technology entrepreneurship and garner confidence that great technology and consumer products can be built in Pakistan.
The team at Airlift is a true representation of the potential that resides within the country.
Airlift is building a platform for consumers, drivers, and small business owners to move consumer goods. They believe they can create 200,000 jobs in Pakistan within the next five years.
With the Series B funding, Airlift today, as a Pakistani-born startup is committed to revolutionizing the retail industry.
