ByteDance backs Dubai logistics startup

New direction: In this file picture, a teenager poses with a smartphone with the logo of social network TikTok in France. TikTok is quickly morphing into an online marketplace where influencers tout products to their fans through live-streams. ― AFP

DUBAI: TikTok parent ByteDance Ltd has invested in Dubai-based iMile Delivery LLC as part of the first major fundraising by the courier startup that services Chinese online vendors, according to people familiar with the matter.

The company’s series A financing round, one of the Middle East’s largest by a female founder to date, raised US$40mil (RM169.08mil) and valued iMile at US$350mil (RM1.48bil), according to a statement.