UAE blockchain startup Bundle raises $5.5 million

UAE based startup, which has built a blockchain powered rewards platforms, has raised $5.5 million pre-seed funding, led by Ethereal Ventures, founded by Ethereum co-founder Joe Lubin, and Further Ventures, with participation from Nascent, GSR, Scenius Capital, Anchorage Digital and Nuwa Capital.

The startup is positioning itself to expand its platform beyond the UAE and into key Asian markets. The platform enable brands to pool their incentive budgets into shared reward pools, allowing businesses to offer larger rewards while lowering customer acquisition costs.

As per the announcement, during a pilot across five markets, Bundle distributed $100,000 to more than 1,100 winners, including a $50,000 grand prize, while participating brands recorded conversion rates of up to 4x compared with traditional incentive campaigns.

Bundle plans to launch initially in Singapore, Vietnam, and the Philippines with more than 50 founding brands, using blockchain technology and stablecoins to power transparent and cross-border reward distribution. It plans to resolve the issue where brands have relied on discounts and cashback to attract customers. Yet customer acquisition and retention costs continue to rise, conversion rates continue to decline, and businesses sacrifice billions of dollars in margins every year on incentives that customers increasingly ignore.

Offering an alternative to isolated rewards programs, Bundle enables brands to combine their incentive budgets into shared reward pools. By participating in the network, every business gains access to rewards far larger than they could offer independently, giving SMEs the ability to compete with the marketing power of much larger companies.

According to Bader Al Kalooti, Co Founder and CEO of Bundle the startup was built to level the playing field. He notes, ” We believe every business, regardless of size, should be able to offer their customers the kind of rewards that genuinely excite them, rather than relying on discounting, which is a race to the bottom.”

Everyday interactions such as making a purchase, referring a friend, or completing another eligible action become opportunities to earn Bundle tickets and participate in shared reward pools. For brands, it delivers a more engaging incentive model with predictable costs and stronger marketing performance.

The platform also removes much of the operational complexity traditionally associated with promotional campaigns. Bundle manages the underlying rewards infrastructure and regulatory framework, allowing brands to launch campaigns across multiple markets through a single permitted platform.

Bundle also represents a practical consumer application enabled by Web 3 rails to drive mainstream adoption of blockchain technology. While brands and consumers enjoy a familiar Web2 experience, rewards are distributed using modern stablecoin payment infrastructure, enabling low-cost global payouts and seamless withdrawals via licensed PSPs without any complexity.

Through its compliance-based operating model, With a view to accelerating its expansion into global markets, Bundle has newly closed a US$5.5 million

Min Teo Managing Partner at Ethereal Ventures, noted, “The next wave of blockchain businesses like Bundle will drive mainstream consumer applications by feeling native to users and solving real problems. It is a perfect example that uses shared rewards and blockchain rails to help brands drive loyalty and customer growth at scale.”

In addition to accelerating its launch across key markets, funding provided by Ethereal Ventures and Further Ventures will be used to support Bundle’s product development and strategic partnership investments.

On LinkedIn Al Kalooti explained that Bundle is built on a simple insight: consumers are often more motivated by the opportunity to earn a meaningful, life-changing reward than by another small discount. Large companies can afford to capitalize on this paradigm shift to influence user behavior. Most businesses cannot. That is where Bundle comes in.

He adds, “We combine brand incentive budgets into shared reward pools, giving businesses access to rewards far larger than they could offer alone. Brands can drive sales and engagement with larger rewards at a fraction of the cost. Consumers gain opportunities to earn life-changing amounts by engaging with brands they know and love.”

Blockchain brings transparency to ticket issuance and winner selection. Stablecoins move value globally, quickly and at low cost, putting them into the hands of millions through brands consumers trust.