Gathern, a Riyadh-based rental startup, said it has raised a $6 million Series A funding led by Saudi venture capital firm STV.

The funding round was supported by existing investors Vision Ventures, 500 Startups, Saudi businessman Naef Sultan AlAthel, and ARG Limited.

Gathern, a peer-to-peer vacation rental marketplace, plans to use the funding to develop its product and expand in Saudi Arabia. It is currently active in over 100 towns in the kingdom.

It follows the Airbnb model; through Gathern anybody can rent a villa, apartment, farm, caravan, room, chalet, camp, or yacht, among other options, directly from an individual owner, on daily basis.

The company, founded by Latifa Altamimi in 2017, said it has the capacity to host over 1.2 million guests per month.

STV said it was their first investment in the travel space, and the largest ever investment in a female-led Saudi-based startup.

Saudi Arabia, which has been pushing tourism as part of its Vision 2030, opened up to international tourism in 2019.

(Writing by Brinda Darasha; editing by Daniel Luiz)

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