The problem
For most Arabic speakers, even a simple health question meant a clinic trip — yet the company estimates over 70% of doctor visits are unnecessary — while trustworthy Arabic medical content barely existed online.
How it works
Altibbi runs a 24/7 telehealth service: patients describe symptoms over chat, voice, or video to licensed doctors, receive diagnoses and digital prescriptions redeemable at pharmacies, and read Arabic health content for everything else. Through partnerships like Zain Clinic, the full service lives inside the partner’s own app — no separate download — with Altibbi’s physician network answering in under two minutes on average.
Pain points
Overcrowded clinics, wasted trips for minor issues, a drought of reliable Arabic health information, and rural patients hours from the nearest doctor.
Business model
Consumer teleconsultations and premium health plans, plus B2B white-label telehealth for insurers, employers, and telecom operators that pay to embed Altibbi’s doctor network in their apps.
Challenges
Each new market means fresh medical licensing and prescription rules; quality must hold as consultations scale through telecom distribution; and rivals like Vezeeta and Okadoc are chasing the same insurer and super-app partnerships across the Gulf.
Funding
- Raised: $44M Series B (Mar 2022) led by Foundation Holdings and Hikma Ventures with Global Ventures and DASH Ventures — the largest single digital-health round in the region at the time — bringing total raised to $50M (pharmaphorum).
- Ambition: the company has stated plans to pursue an IPO toward a $1B valuation as the region’s first listed digital-health unicorn.
Latest — Jan 2026
On 28 January 2026 Altibbi partnered with Zain Saudi Arabia to launch Zain Clinic, embedding 240+ accredited physicians directly in the Zain mobile app with chat, voice, and video consultations plus digital prescriptions — with rollout to Kuwait, Bahrain, and the UAE planned through 2026 (HealthCare Middle East & Africa).