Astra Tech – The UAE’s Bet on Building the Everything App

In March 2022, few had heard of Astra Tech. Just over a year later, it had acquired three major digital platforms, raised half a billion dollars, and claimed over 150 million users across 155 countries. It was no accident. Astra was born fast, scaled faster, and backed by one of the most powerful forces in Gulf tech—G42.

The story starts with Abdallah Abu Sheikh, a Jordanian entrepreneur with previous hits like Rizek (home services) and Barq (last-mile logistics). With Astra, he aimed higher: to build the Middle East’s first true “Ultra App”—an ecosystem that could rival WeChat in scope but tailored to regional needs. It wouldn’t just combine services; it would integrate the state.

Within months of launching Astra Tech, Abu Sheikh secured a $500M funding round led by G42, the Abu Dhabi-based AI powerhouse tied to Mubadala. The playbook was aggressive M&A. First came PayBy, a homegrown fintech platform. Then Rizek, his former startup. But the crown jewel was Botim, a VoIP app with 90M users, which Astra acquired in January 2023.

Botim was the perfect foundation: widely adopted, locally approved, and trusted. Astra began layering in services—bill pay, visa renewals, telehealth, remittances, e-commerce. It wasn’t just adding features; it was turning Botim into a platform that touched nearly every part of life.

But in November 2024, the story took another turn. G42 acquired full control of Astra Tech by buying out Abu Sheikh’s shares. He exited, and CTO Long Roan stepped in. Astra was now fully Emirati—and Botim became the backbone of a broader G42 vision: national digital infrastructure powered by AI.

With Microsoft investing $1.5B into G42 and new AI centers on the way, Astra Tech isn't just building an app. It’s helping define the UAE’s digital future.