# Noureddine Tayebi

> Noureddine Tayebi is the founder and CEO of Yassir, North Africa's most valuable tech startup and the leading super app for francophone Africa. Born in Algiers in 1977, he earned a PhD in electrical engineering from Stanford University after completing a master's degree at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. He spent eight years at Intel in Silicon Valley accumulating over 50 patents before founding InSense, a nano-motion sensor startup acquired by Mojo Vision in 2018. In 2017, he co-founded Yassir, which has grown to serve 8 million+ users across 45 cities in six countries, offering ride-hailing, food delivery, grocery delivery, and fintech services. Yassir has raised $193.25 million in total, including a historic $150M Series B led by Mary Meeker's BOND, cementing Tayebi's position as a defining figure in Africa's digital economy.

- **Role:** Founder & CEO at Yassir
- **Organizations:** Yassir, InSense, Intel, StartX, Y Combinator
- **From:** Algiers, Algeria
- **Nationality:** Algerian
- **Education:** Diplôme d'Ingénieur (Engineering), École Nationale Polytechnique d'El Harrach, Master's in Electrical Engineering, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, PhD in Electrical Engineering, Stanford University
- **Known for:** Built Yassir into North Africa's most valuable tech startup with $193.25M raised, Scaled Yassir to 8 million+ users across 45 cities in 6 countries, Holds 50+ patents and scientific publications from Intel and academic work

## Career timeline

- **1977** — Born in Algiers, Algeria, into a family of physicians
- **1990s** — Studied engineering at École Nationale Polytechnique d'El Harrach, Algiers
- **1998** — Earned Master's degree in electrical engineering from University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
- **Early 2000s** — Completed PhD in electrical engineering at Stanford University
- **2006** — Joined Intel's R&D laboratory in Silicon Valley, working on DNA sequencing technology for precision medicine
- **2006-2014** — Built expertise at Intel across R&D, product management, marketing, and commercialization; accumulated 23+ patents
- **2014** — Left Intel to found InSense, a nano-motion sensor startup, with $1.6M in initial grants
- **2017** — Co-founded Yassir with Mahdi Yettou as Algeria's first ride-hailing app, operating from Palo Alto
- **2018** — Sold InSense to Mojo Vision for $1.6 million; Yassir achieved profitability within 8 months of launch
- **2019** — Yassir raised $13M seed round; launched e-commerce and delivery services
- **2021** — Yassir closed $30M Series A led by WndrCo, FJ Labs, DN Capital, Kismet, and Endeavor Catalyst
- **2022** — Yassir raised historic $150M Series B led by BOND (Mary Meeker), bringing total funding to $193.25M
- **2022-present** — Expanding Yassir across Sub-Saharan Africa and planning entry into Middle East; scaling to 2,000+ employees

## Achievements

- Built Yassir into North Africa's most valuable tech startup with $193.25M raised
- Scaled Yassir to 8 million+ users across 45 cities in 6 countries
- Holds 50+ patents and scientific publications from Intel and academic work
- Achieved profitability at Yassir within just 8 months of launch
- Secured $150M Series B led by Bond (Mary Meeker's firm) - historic for the Maghreb region
- Successfully exited first startup InSense (acquired by Mojo Vision 2018)
- Indirectly created 40,000+ jobs through Yassir's platform
- Mentor and lead at StartX, Stanford's alumni-focused startup accelerator
- Occasional lecturer at Stanford University
- Backed by Y Combinator - a rare distinction for African startups

## Latest updates

- **2022-11** — Yassir closed $150M Series B led by Bond, bringing total funding to $193.25M
- **2022-09** — Yassir reached 8 million users across 45 cities in 6 countries
- **2022** — Yassir launched expansion into Sub-Saharan Africa including Senegal
- **2021-11** — Closed $30M Series A backed by WndrCo, FJ Labs, DN Capital, Kismet, Endeavor Catalyst

## Links

- Website: https://yassir.com
- LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/noureddine-tayebi
- Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/NoureddineTaye4
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/noureddinetayebi/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/noureddine.tayebi.3

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/noureddine-tayebi
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-05-24