YallaPlay

Country: United Arab Emirates (HQ Abu Dhabi)

Founded: 2015

Team Size: 40+

Platforms: Mobile (iOS, Android)

Status: Active

Overview

YallaPlay is a mobile card games studio headquartered in Abu Dhabi, focused on what founder and CEO Kareem Seddik calls "forever games," titles designed for long retention cycles rather than seasonal trends. The studio began in Austin, expanded to Brazil, and ultimately relocated its HQ to the UAE, growing to around 40 team members across in-office and remote roles at peak.

YallaPlay is built on a proprietary backend engine that supports real-time PvP gameplay and complex monetisation strategies, allowing the studio to deploy and operate games at a fraction of typical market costs. The studio self-publishes and owns its IP across the portfolio, with Spades Masters as its flagship title generating millions in revenue, scaled in the US market through an early partnership with MiniClip.

Games

Spades Masters
Trillionaire Thugs
Gin Rummy Masters
Tarneeb Masters

Intelligence

YallaPlay is one of the few MENA mobile studios that has successfully scaled a single IP into millions of dollars in international revenue, using Spades Masters in the US as a template the studio plans to replicate across multiple card game titles.

The studio's defensibility sits in its proprietary backend engine and accumulated data from billions of game cycles, giving it cost and operational advantages over competitors that rely on third-party infrastructure.

Funding & Backing

Funding model: Backed by IM Capital, Impact46, B&Y Venture Partners, and Berytech
Capital stage: VC-backed across multiple rounds
Self-publishing model with full IP ownership

Strategic Model

Platform direction: Mobile-first with no current cross-platform expansion plans
Core genres: Real-time PvP card games and timeless mobile card titles
Monetisation approach: IAP-heavy model optimised through AI-driven matchmaking, dynamic difficulty, and economy management
Geographic focus: UAE HQ with global market reach, primary commercial market in the US
Positioning: Forever games studio focused on long-cycle card titles with proprietary infrastructure

Active & Upcoming Projects

Spades Masters (live and scaling in the US market)
Multiple additional card game titles slated for upcoming release
AI Tutor initiative combining card games AI with education
Continued international expansion using the Spades Masters playbook

Performance Signals

Spades Masters generated millions in revenue with MiniClip partnership during launch phase
Billions of game cycles processed across the portfolio, powering proprietary AI models
Team scaled to 40 members across the US, Brazil, and UAE at peak
Continued hiring through industry-wide layoff cycles

Key Person

Kareem Seddik - Founder and CEO

Accepting introduction requests: TBC