• UAE-based conversational commerce platform Popcorn AI has raised a $500,000 pre-seed funding round, with participation from Spring Studios fund, backed by Salica Investments and Al Waha Fund of Funds, and other angel investors from across Saudi Arabia.
• Founded in 2023 by Yousef Al Arif, Popcorn AI provides conversational commerce solutions that empower businesses to engage customers in natural, productive conversations that drive results.
• The new funding will accelerate Popcorn AI's plans to advance the platform's conversational AI capabilities and expand its team of AI and commerce experts.

Press release:

Popcorn AI, the future of conversational commerce, today announced its $500,000 pre-seed funding round, with participation from Spring Studios fund, backed by Salica Investments and Al Waha Fund of Funds, and strategic angel investors from across the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. This investment marks a significant milestone in transforming how businesses connect, engage, and transact with their customers through AI-powered conversations.

Popcorn AI's platform represents a paradigm shift in digital commerce, moving beyond traditional chatbots to create intelligent AI agents that handle the entire customer journey—from personalised product discovery to seamless payment processing—all within a natural conversation. The platform's capabilities were recently demonstrated when one of its AI agents independently managed and closed a $400,000 real estate transaction from initial inquiry to final sale. Early adopters across sectors have reported up to a 90% decrease in customer acquisition costs while seeing conversion rates improve by up to 20%, demonstrating the transformative potential of intelligent conversational commerce.

"The future of commerce is conversational," said Yousef Al Arif, founder and CEO of Popcorn AI. "Today's customers expect personalised, instant, and effortless shopping experiences. We're not just building another AI chatbot; we're creating intelligent commerce agents that understand context, remember preferences, and guide customers through their entire shopping journey, just like an exceptional sales associate would."

"We are proud to support Popcorn AI's mission to enhance how businesses interact with their customers," said Josh Rodger, Principal of the Spring Studio’s fund. "Their innovative approach to conversational commerce has the potential to transform industries and redefine the customer experience."

Drawing from over a decade of experience in scaling e-commerce and marketplace businesses across MENA, Al Arif has positioned Popcorn AI at the intersection of AI innovation and commercial practicality. The platform is already transforming customer interactions across e-commerce, real estate, and hospitality sectors, proving that conversational commerce is the next frontier in digital business.

The new funding will accelerate Popcorn AI's mission to make conversational commerce the new standard for business-customer interactions, with investments focused on advancing the platform's conversational AI capabilities and expanding its team of AI and commerce experts.