By Alexander Cornwell
DUBAI (Reuters) - Middle East ride-hailing app Careem is in talks to raise as much as $150 million from existing investors to launch its food delivery business as early as September, according to a source with direct knowledge of the matter.
Careem, the main Middle East rival of Uber Technologies, has been trialing food delivery services after announcing in February it had acquired regional online restaurant listing platform RoundMenu.
The Dubai-based company will launch CareemFood in Pakistan as soon as September and then in the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, other Gulf countries, and Egypt, the source said.
It will compete against UberEats, Deliveroo, Zomato, and Talabat which already operate in the region.
The source did not say which investors Careem were in talks with.
Careem's investors include German carmaker Daimler (DE:DAIGn), China's largest ride-haling firm DiDi Chuxing, and Saudi Arabian billionaire Prince Alwaleed bin Talal's Kingdom Holding (SE:4280).
Reuters reported in March that Careem was in early talks to raise as much as $500 million from investors.
There is strong demand for food delivery in the Middle East, particularly during the summer months in the Gulf where temperatures can soar above 50 degrees Celsius (122°F) in the summer.
Careem, which says it has 24 million registered users, competes head-to-head with Uber in many major Middle East cities including Dubai, Riyadh, and Cairo.