Hudhud's Saudi maps app hit #1 on the App Store and 1M users in three weeks

Hudhud (هدهد) is a Saudi maps and navigation startup based at The Garage in Riyadh, founded by Faisal Al-Khamisi, who co-founded the Saudi tech company Barq, and Mutaib Al-Quni, a PayFort veteran. For two years before launch it built what it claims is a Saudi-first geographic database, using LiDAR scanning (5mm accuracy within 30m), 7 million+ images of Riyadh, computer vision and AI, instead of licensing global map data.

The app launched officially on 2026-07-30 and rode a wave of local enthusiasm: within 21 days it topped Saudi Arabia's App Store free chart, ranked the #1 free navigation app ahead of Google Maps, and its account announced 1 million users on 2026-08-17, with 100,000+ Google Play downloads by August 11. The pitch is hyper-local accuracy — traffic, closures, accidents, speed bumps and camera alerts for Riyadh's constantly changing road network — plus an Arabic interface and voice guidance, CarPlay/Android Auto support, and a community loop where users report problems and add missing places.

Hudhud's ambition runs beyond navigation: it offers virtual tours, 3D maps, metro routes, national addresses and developer map APIs, positioning the data it collects as a geospatial platform for logistics, transport and urban services. It still has gaps users complain about — place search, coverage outside Riyadh, CarPlay performance — and Google Maps remains entrenched, but topping the store and crossing a million users in under a month made it Saudi Arabia's most visible app-launch story of mid-2026.