Outdated Drivers Are Slowing You Down
One free scan finds every outdated or missing driver and matches the right update for your exact hardware.Free scan · exact hardware matchWindows Errors? Fix Them Before They Spread
Repair common Windows errors and clear accumulated junk for a smoother, more stable PC - no reinstall needed.Free scan · no reinstallMeet Uzbekistan’s first unicorn: e-commerce startup Uzum. The label dates to March 2024, when the company announced $114 million in combined equity and debt financing and said its valuation exceeded $1 billion. TechCrunch reported the post-money valuation as $1.16 billion. Since then, Uzum has expanded its financing and built out a broader business spanning shopping, delivery, digital banking and consumer lending.
What is Uzum?
Uzum is an Uzbekistan-based digital services company whose ecosystem combines online commerce with delivery, financial services and tools for businesses. Its first service under the Uzum brand, the Uzum Market marketplace, launched in October 2022. The company says it was founded by Djasur Djumaev and Uzbek partners.
Uzum’s model is broader than a standalone online shop: its company materials describe services integrated across the ecosystem. The customer-facing parts include marketplace shopping, food and store delivery, digital banking and consumer lending. It also added a service for businesses in 2023.
How did Uzum become Uzbekistan’s first unicorn?
In March 2024, Uzum announced $114 million in combined financing: $52 million in primary Series A equity led by FinSight Ventures and $62 million in debt. The company called itself Uzbekistan’s first tech unicorn and described its valuation as above $1 billion. TechCrunch reported a $1.16 billion post-money valuation.
#1 Best Overall
A unicorn is a private company valued at more than $1 billion. Here, the designation refers to the valuation associated with the 2024 financing announcement; it should not be mistaken for a current valuation or a measure of profitability.
Alexey Garyunov, managing partner at lead investor FinSight Ventures, said: “We witnessed the success of Kaspi.kz in creating a superapp in neighboring Kazakhstan, and we are confident that Uzum, which has the necessary talent, resources and products, will repeat this success to become a national tech leader in Uzbekistan.” That was an investor’s forecast, not evidence that the predicted outcome has occurred.
What does Uzum do besides e-commerce?
| Service area | What it covers |
|---|---|
| Marketplace commerce | Uzum Market, launched in October 2022, is the ecosystem’s online shopping service. |
| Delivery | Uzum added express delivery in 2023. Its food-delivery service, Uzum Tezkor, reported more than 2,400 partner restaurants across 18 cities at the end of 2024. |
| Digital banking | Uzum includes digital banking services alongside its commerce and delivery offerings. |
| Consumer lending | The ecosystem also offers consumer lending, extending its financial-services activity beyond payments or banking. |
| Business services | The company added a service for businesses in 2023; the cited company materials do not specify further details here. |
The company presents these services as connected parts of one ecosystem. That describes its strategy; it does not, by itself, establish a competitive advantage or guarantee that the services will succeed.
What do Uzum’s reported operating results show?
For FY2024, Uzum reported nearly 16 million monthly active users, up 61% year over year and equivalent to 40% of Uzbekistan’s population. The company also reported $345 million in consolidated gross merchandise value (GMV)—the value of goods sold through the platform—and $150 million in net income. These are company-reported figures for that financial year, not independently verified market-wide measures.
Recommended Free Tools
Uzum’s company history page later summarized unaudited FY2025 results and reported $176 million in net profit. That summary does not provide a comparable full set of 2025 operating metrics, so it does not establish how users or GMV changed year over year.
How have Uzum’s funding and valuation changed?
The financing announcements use different capital types and valuation measures. A post-money valuation is measured after an investment; a pre-money valuation is a reference point before new capital is counted. Uzum’s March 2026 announcement also makes the valuation conditional in an important way: conversion terms are linked to a future qualified financing round.
| Date | Financing described | Valuation described |
|---|---|---|
| March 2024 | $114 million combined: $52 million in Series A equity and $62 million in debt, according to Uzum. | Uzum said above $1 billion; TechCrunch reported a $1.16 billion post-money valuation. |
| August 2025 | Equity financing led by Tencent and VR Capital, with FinSight Ventures participating; Uzum’s history page lists a $70 million equity financing. | Approximately $1.5 billion post-money, as reported by TechCrunch and listed in Uzum’s company history. |
| March 2026 | Strategic investment exceeding $130 million, anchored by sovereign entities of Oman, according to Uzum. | A $2.3 billion pre-money valuation reference point, with conversion terms linked to the next qualified financing round—not an unconditional completed post-money valuation. |
These figures mark separate financing events, not a directly interchangeable sequence of completed valuations: the 2024 and 2025 figures are post-money valuations, while the 2026 announcement describes a pre-money reference point with future conversion terms.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.What the milestones mean for Uzum
Uzum’s story is notable not just because it crossed the unicorn threshold, but because its financing announcements accompanied the development of a multi-service digital business in Uzbekistan. Its reported FY2024 user base and financial results provide a snapshot of the company’s scale, while the subsequent financing rounds show continued investor interest. Valuations, however, are financing-event measures—not proof of future performance, market dominance or an eventual public-market value.
In its March 2026 announcement, founder and CEO Djasur Djumaev said: “This investment is a strong endorsement of both Uzum’s strategy and Uzbekistan’s digital potential.” That is the company leader’s characterization of the investment, rather than an independent assessment of its prospects.
Quick Recap
Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on Amazon at the time of purchase will apply.
