Snoonu Buys US Food Discovery App BiteSight, Its First International Acquisition

Snoonu, Qatar's homegrown super-app, acquired BiteSight, a New York-based food-discovery app backed by Y Combinator, in its first international acquisition. The deal was signed at a ceremony in Doha on October 19, 2026, and no financial terms were disclosed. Startup Researcher reported the acquisition.

Snoonu operates across quick commerce, food delivery, and ride-hailing, and has been majority-owned by Saudi Arabia's Jahez International since mid-2025. BiteSight combines short video feeds, photos, friend ratings, and a personal list of restaurants to try, allowing users to order food without leaving the app.

Snoonu's Full Ownership of BiteSight

Snoonu gains full ownership of BiteSight's product, brand, and underlying technology rather than taking a minority stake of the kind it has typically held in Qatari startups through its Startup Factory program. The acquisition includes Bernardo Porbuá Quiroga and Lucius McDaniel IV, who will join Snoonu to build out new features for restaurant discovery. This move is distinct from the company's previous investments, which primarily supported local early-stage ventures with limited shareholdings.

BiteSight was available only in New York before the acquisition, even as users in other American cities requested a wider rollout. Snoonu highlighted the app's 4.9-star rating from more than 1,200 reviews and nearly 4 million TikTok likes tied to its viral clips. BiteSight went viral in June 2025 when a TikTok video pushed it to No. 18 overall and No. 2 in Food & Beverage on the US App Store, ahead of Uber Eats, Starbucks, and McDonald's. The app reported 714% user growth, gained over 100,000 new users within days, and surpassed 150,000 downloads to date. Before the deal, BiteSight raised a US$1.5 million Pre-Seed round from Y Combinator and SurgePoint Capital.

Snoonu's Scale and Funding History

Snoonu is valued at $320 million following the Jahez acquisition in 2025, making it the first Qatari startup to surpass $300 million valuation, according to akta.pro company records. Jahez acquired a 76.56% stake for $245 million, with an additional $20 million subscription to newly issued Snoonu shares. Snoonu's total funding stands at $17 million, with its last round a $12 million Series B led by Qatar Development Bank in May 2023. The company was founded in 2019 and is headquartered in Lusail, Qatar.

Snoonu's Recent Expansion Moves

Snoonu launched Snoonu Cross-Border in September 2026, a platform letting regional brands sell directly to Qatari consumers without opening a local store, Startup Scene reported. In August 2026, Snoonu Cloud launched at Web Summit Qatar 2026, a Platform-as-a-Service product allowing governments and businesses globally to deploy Snoonu's integrated commerce and logistics infrastructure, Gulf Times reported. Snoonu announced a QAR 5 million interest-free growth fund for eligible local merchants in Qatar in October 2026, with applications open until October 2026, Gulf Times reported.

BiteSight's Founders Join Snoonu

The acquisition includes the founders joining Snoonu, which gives the company direct access to product talent that built the viral experience. Snoonu's Startup Factory has backed early-stage Qatari ventures including HASIF, Sufra AI, and Hired Valley through minority stakes. The BiteSight transaction differs by transferring full ownership of a venture-backed US consumer app to a Qatari company.