Dubai-Based HB Investments Announces Investment in "Knowledge Hacking" App, Uptime Having announced its US$16 million seed round in February this year, this latest investment brings the total amount of funds secured by Uptime to $19 million.

By Aby Sam Thomas Jun 1, 2021

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Alya, Huda, and Mona Kattan, the founders of Huda Beauty

HB Investments, the Dubai-based private investment office of the founders of globally renowned beauty brand, Huda Beauty, has announced its participation in a US$3 million extension to the seed funding round raised by Uptime, an edtech app that provides users with five-minute "knowledge hacks" distilled from popular books, courses, and documentaries around the world.

Having announced its $16 million seed round in February this year, this latest investment brings the total amount of funds secured by Uptime to $19 million, with its new backers including Huda Kattan (founder of Huda Beauty and Chairwoman of HB Investments), Chad Hurley (co-founder of YouTube and co-investor in Leeds United Football Club), and others.

In a statement announcing HB Investments' support of Uptime, Kattan said, "Democratizing access to education is something I care deeply about, and so does the team at Uptime. I'm excited to be joining them on this journey as an investor and board member to create a truly global edtech platform."

Jamie True, Patrick Walker, and Jack Bekhor, co-founders, Uptime

Launched in 2020 by Jamie True, Jack Bekhor, and Patrick Walker, Uptime makes use of machine learning and human curation to currently present more than 1,500 pieces of content to its users. With the app claiming to have users visiting it 1.5 times a day, sessions on Uptime have been said to run for eight minutes on average, making it second only to Tik Tok in terms of user engagement and interaction.

Such figures are an indication as to why HB Investments decided to invest in the app. "Uptime has a robust entrepreneurial team, and an exceptional roster of early investors," said HB Investments CEO Karan Wats, in an interview with Entrepreneur Middle East. "It is on track to own the knowledge hacking space."

Karan Wats, CEO, HB Investments.

Besides Uptime, HB Investments has made investments in startups like Clubhouse, Fresha, and others. When asked for what attributes the company looks for when making decisions on funding startups, Wats replied, "We believe the best businesses are built by the best teams. We look for entrepreneurs that think big, are not afraid to challenge the status quo, and inspire their teams to execute on the company's mission."

Aby Sam Thomas

Entrepreneur Staff

Former Editor in Chief of Entrepreneur Middle East

Aby Sam Thomas is the former Editor in Chief of Entrepreneur Middle East. Having started working on the brand in November 2014, Aby was responsible for leading the publication on its editorial front until September 2024.

In his nearly-decade-long tenure at Entrepreneur Middle East, Aby played a key role in its growth and development across the MENA region, with him developing and executing events, programs, and other initiatives under the brand's banner, while also personally representing it through his appearances in conferences, media, etc.

Aby has been working in journalism since 2011, prior to which he was an analyst programmer with Accenture, where he worked with J. P. Morgan Chase's investment banking arm at offices in Mumbai, London, and New York. He holds a Master's Degree in Journalism from the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism in New York.

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