UAE-Based Zuvees Bags US$1.6 Million From India-Based IvyCap Ventures To Support Regional And Global Expansion

UAE-based gifting platform Zuvees has secured US$1.6 million from India-based sector-agnostic fund IvyCap Ventures—an existing investor in the company—as part of its ongoing Series A funding round.  

The raise forms part of a wider Series A target of $6-8 million, which Zuvees plans to use to scale its technology, expand into new markets, and accelerate its long-term growth. The company has, so far, raised a total of $3.3 million in funding since its inception. 

Founded by Vijay Ghadge and Abhishek Daiya in the UAE in 2025, Zuvees operates a cross-border gifting platform that enables users to discover, customize, and send gifts across international markets. "At its core, Zuvees is building a premium gifting platform that helps people celebrate life's important moments through flowers, gifts, cakes, experiences, and curated gift collections,” Ghadge told Inc. Arabia. “Our mission is to remove the friction from gifting and create an experience where customers can trust that what arrives matches both their expectations and intentions. We believe gifting is ultimately about human connection, and technology should make that connection stronger, not more complicated."  

Since its launch, Zuvees claims to have achieved an annualized revenue run-rate exceeding $3 million, while maintaining strong unit economics as a direct-to-consumer gifting brand serving customers across more than 50 countries. The Middle East itself represents a $10 billion opportunity for the company, with Zuvees targeting both corporate and individual customers across the region.  

"The gifting market is competitive, but it is also highly fragmented, which creates significant opportunities for companies that can deliver a superior customer experience,” Ghadge said. “In gifting, consumers are not simply buying a product; they are buying confidence that a meaningful moment will be delivered successfully. What differentiates Zuvees is our focus on reliability, quality, and customer trust. We control the experience end-to-end, from product curation and presentation to fulfilment and customer support. We have also built our operations around a shift we see happening across the industry: gifting is evolving from 'gift later' to 'gift today' and increasingly to 'gift now.' As consumers increasingly expect instant gratification, the ability to deliver premium gifting experiences quickly and consistently becomes a significant competitive advantage. That is where we believe Zuvees is particularly well positioned." 

A Zuvees offering.

Backing that strategy is the fresh capital that Zuvees has raised, which it plans to invest in expanding its operational footprint, scaling its artificial intelligence (AI)-powered personalization and recommendation engine, strengthening its proprietary supply-chain infrastructure, and deepening its customer intelligence and customer relationship management (CRM) capabilities. The funds are thus all set to fuel Zuvees' next phase of growth, though Ghadge noted that securing them required navigating an investment landscape impacted by the geopolitical uncertainty in the region. 

"Fundraising is always challenging, regardless of market conditions,” Ghadge shared. “Investors today are more disciplined than ever and are looking beyond growth alone to evaluate execution capability, unit economics, and long-term market potential. While geopolitical uncertainty has undoubtedly created caution across the investment landscape, we have found that strong businesses continue to attract capital. Investors ultimately look for resilient opportunities addressing large markets with clear customer demand. We believe IvyCap Ventures saw several things in Zuvees: a large and underpenetrated market opportunity, strong early customer validation, growing repeat purchase behavior, and a team with experience scaling consumer-focused businesses. Most importantly, they share our belief that gifting is undergoing a structural transformation as consumer expectations around convenience, speed, and reliability continue to evolve."  

Against that backdrop, Ghadge outlined Zuvees' plans for the years ahead."Our vision is to build the most trusted gifting platform across the GCC, and eventually expand into other global markets with similar consumer demographics,” he said. “We believe gifting is becoming a much more immediate, experience-driven category, and our goal is to become the default choice whenever someone wants to celebrate, express gratitude, or strengthen a personal connection."   

Pictured in the lead image are Zuvees co-founders Abhishek Daiya (left) and Vijay Ghadge (right). All images courtesy Zuvees.