Dubai: Middle East ride-hailing app Careem is planning to spend up to $150 million (Dh551 million) to launch its food delivery business as early as September, according to two sources 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 is in talks with investors to raise as much as $150 million to finance the launch of CareemFood as part of an existing fundraising round, said one of the sources. CareemFood will be launched in Pakistan as soon as September and then in the UAE, Saudi Arabia, other Gulf countries, and Egypt, said a second source.

It will compete against UberEats, Deliveroo, Zomato, and Talabat which already operate in the region.

The sources did not say which investors Careem were in talks with.