Press release:

500 Global, a multi-stage venture capital firm, and Sanabil Investments, a wholly owned company of the Public Investment Fund (PIF), announce the eleventh batch of the Sanabil Accelerator by 500 Global, a hybrid program supporting early-stage founders building in sectors critical to the region’s future. Running from April 5 to July 1, 2026, the cohort brings together a highly selective group of eight startups, chosen from more than 690 applications, with companies building across AI-driven products, fintech and payment infrastructure, healthcare diagnostics, digital risk and fraud, insurance distribution, compliance, and content and IP monetization.

For this cohort, the team looked for companies that demonstrate the potential for strong operating discipline, clear business fundamentals and a sharp focus on execution, qualities we believe are important in this region. In response to ongoing uncertainty across the Middle East, the program has adapted its format, with Phases 1 and 2 delivered fully remotely as part of its hybrid model. The approach reflects how the Sanabil Accelerator by 500 Global continues to evolve alongside the MENA ecosystem, giving founders practical support while maintaining the flexibility needed to build through changing market conditions.

Participating founders have received targeted mentorship, operator-led workshops, access to regional and global networks, and exposure to ecosystem stakeholders ahead of Demo Day on July 1, 2026. Rather than following a one-size-fits-all accelerator model, Batch 11 has been designed around hands-on execution support, with a particular concentration of AI-enabled and infrastructure-driven companies addressing foundational challenges in the region.

“Batch 11 reflects the rising caliber and ambition of founders building from the region today,” said Amal Dokhan, Managing Partner at 500 Global MENA. “We are seeing entrepreneurs develop globally relevant companies with stronger execution, deeper innovation, and clearer paths to scale. We remain committed to empowering these founders with the capital, mentorship, and network needed to help accelerate their growth.”

A spokesperson for Sanabil Investments added, “This cohort demonstrates the strength and relevance of the region’s next generation of founders, particularly those building solutions in sectors that matter most to long-term economic resilience and growth. Through the Sanabil Accelerator by 500 Global, we remain committed to backing ambitious entrepreneurs with access, insight, and institutional support as they scale solutions with regional and global potential.”

The Sanabil Accelerator by 500 Global Batch 11 companies are:

• Carevision - An AI platform that transforms any smartphone camera into a 60-second cardiometabolic risk scanner.
• Emtethal - A computer Vision and IoT technology helping hospitality operators detect and prevent food safety and operation violations in real-time.
• IBEA - Solves late B2B payments by turning them into revenue for buyers while giving suppliers early, debt-free access to capital.
• Kami - An AI-powered tools platform empowering Gen-Z content creators to monetize their work from day one by transforming short fictional stories into immersive, multi-format experiences.
• Melon Digital - An Insurtech app providing personalized coverage, transparent pricing, and AI-powered claims processing through mobile phones.
• Raid AI - Instantly detects deepfakes across channels, helping businesses prevent losses from identity theft and fraud.
• TPP - A media intelligence company that creates and scales Arabic content, helping brands make data-driven marketing investments.
• Xsquare - Helping businesses connect their financial operations in one unified view, saving them time from navigating disconnected tools to make sense of their money.

With Batch 11 concluding in July, applications for the next cohort are open. Startups from across the MENA region are invited to join the strong and growing community of ambitious founders shaping the future of innovation in the region. Apply here.

Press release:

Ruya Partners Limited ("Ruya"), the ADGM-based private credit firm focused on investing in the GCC and the wider MENA region, today announced a US$15 million senior secured private credit facility for Whiteshield Group ("Whiteshield" or the "Company"), the AI-native policy intelligence company with principal operations in the UAE and KSA. The facility, provided by funds managed by Ruya, finances the next stage of Whiteshield's development as it expands the proprietary technology it builds for governments, multilateral institutions and corporates around the world.

As AI accelerates economic, labour market and societal change, governments face a new challenge: adapting faster than the systems they govern. Whiteshield helps governments move from periodic policymaking to policy at the speed of compute.

Founded in 2011 and operating principally from Dubai (DIFC) and Riyadh, Whiteshield has evolved into one of the pioneers of the emerging sovereign intelligence category, combining public policy expertise, proprietary data assets and AI systems to help governments navigate economic transformation. The firm supports governments, sovereign institutions, multilaterals and corporates across the Middle East, Europe, Africa, Eurasia and Asia in addressing economic competitiveness, workforce transformation, human capital development and societal adaptation. To date, Whiteshield's platforms and policy interventions have reached more than 20 million citizens – including 550,000 students – supported the creation of 200,000 jobs, and initiated trade interventions across 37 countries with a net positive impact on global trade. Combining deep public policy expertise with proprietary data assets, AI models and decision-support applications, Whiteshield enables leaders to design, implement and continuously adapt policy interventions. Its technology portfolio - QuantumEd (human capital intelligence), Quantum Leap (economic intelligence), Quantum Navigator (societal intelligence) and XShield, its sovereign intelligence engine - supports workforce transformation, economic development and sovereign decision intelligence. Its differentiation lies in that combination of expert-led advisory and proprietary technology, strengthening policy implementation, impact measurement and institutional decision-making.

"My partners and I built Whiteshield to help governments translate ambition into measurable outcomes for citizens," said Fadi Farra, CEO of Whiteshield. "For decades, governments have invested in information systems. The next era is intelligence systems. Our ambition is to build the sovereign intelligence layer that enables nations to learn, decide and adapt at the speed of change. Ruya understood what we're building from the first conversation, and structured their capital to back where we're going, not just where we are – a rare kind of backing in this region."

For Ruya, the transaction extends a strategy of writing flexible, structured credit for high-quality, founder- and partner-owned businesses that are anchored in the region yet relevant well beyond it. It also reflects the way Ruya invests — global in standards, local in focus — pairing internationally benchmarked structuring and portfolio management with deep regional conviction. Whiteshield is the seventh investment from Ruya's flagship fund and its first in the sovereign intelligence category. Ruya is supported by leading regional institutional capital, including sovereign and sovereign-linked investors across the UAE and Saudi Arabia, and its earlier investments span power, industrial, fitness, food, media-tech and logistics-tech.

"The companies we most want to finance share a common trait: they hold an advantage no competitor can replicate," said Rashid Siddiqi, Partner and Co-Chief Investment Officer at Ruya. "For Whiteshield, that isn't the technology — it's the trust of the institutions it serves and demand rooted in real government priorities. Backing a business with a moat like that, with capital structured around how it actually grows, is precisely what we set out to do in a region that is rapidly transforming its economy."

"This is what we mean when we say we think globally and invest locally," added Omar AlYawer, Partner and Chief Capital Formation Officer at Ruya. "We bring institutional credit discipline — in sourcing, structuring and risk management — to the region's most ambitious companies. For investors who have long gone abroad to find that discipline, our aim is to put it to work at home."

Proceeds from the financing will fund Whiteshield's continued technology development, platform deployment and international expansion. Further commercial terms were not disclosed.

Press release:

Maalexi, the company behind the Maalexi Agricultural Assets Token Exchange (MAATEX), today announced the close of an oversubscribed funding round led by Tawuniya, a Saudi joint-stock company listed on the Saudi Exchange (Tadawul: 8010), and Global Ventures, a UAE-based venture capital firm and Maalexi’s pre-Series A lead investor.

Maalexi is developing what it describes as the world’s first regulated real-world asset (RWA) agricultural exchange, aimed at bringing greater verification, standardisation and transparency to cross-border agricultural trade.

“At Tawuniya, we back businesses that strengthen financial infrastructure and improve market resilience,” said Fahad Bin Muammar, chief investment officer of Tawuniya. “Maalexi has built a disciplined, risk-focused platform that connects physical agricultural trade with emerging digital asset infrastructure. We believe its regulated exchange model can improve transparency, efficiency and market access across global agricultural trade.”

“This round marks an important milestone for Maalexi,” said Dr. Azam Pasha, co-founder and CEO of Maalexi. “Tawuniya’s leadership in this round reflects growing institutional confidence in our platform and in the opportunity to modernise agricultural trade infrastructure. Over the past three years, we have shown that physical agricultural trade can be verified, standardised and executed with lower risk. We are now building the exchange layer on top of that foundation.”

Over 36 months of live operations, Maalexi has built a verification and risk management layer for physical agricultural trade that has delivered measurable results across four markets (UAE, Saudi Arabia, India and the United States):

• 70% repeat customers and 4,000+ smart contracts executed, and being recorded on Avalanche L1 blockchain
• 3 patents published with USPTO, 3 under review to be published this year.

Maalexi says this operational foundation is what enables the exchange model. The company argues that cross-border agricultural commodity markets have historically lacked a viable exchange structure because the underlying trade has been fragmented, difficult to verify and nonstandardised.

Press release:

Across Africa, climate shocks are already reshaping food systems, supply chains, energy access, and infrastructure, and a new generation of founders is building the practical, scalable solutions communities need to adapt. Catalyst Fund, the pan-African venture fund and venture builder backing founders from pre-seed to Series A, has announced the completion of its second close, with total commitments now reaching $30 million, bringing the fund closer to its target fund size and adding fresh momentum to its mission of strengthening climate resilience across the continent. Led by partners Maelis Carraro, Maxime Bayen, Olúwatóyìn Emmanuel-Olubake, and Amolo Ng'weno, the fund plans to invest in 40 ventures across Africa. 

The second close brings together IFC, FASA, Shell Foundation, Trafigura Foundation, Speedinvest, Blink Impact, and a group of high-net-worth individuals, joining early backers FSD Africa, Cisco Foundation, and others who validated the thesis at the first close. It also brings in Women Entrepreneurs Finance Initiative (We-Fi) to help the fund increase its pipeline of women-led companies. Catalyst Fund expects to reach final close later this year. 

"Climate adaptation is one of the defining investment themes of the next decade, especially in Africa, where the need is immediate, and the entrepreneurial talent is extraordinary. This second close allows us to double down on our mission: backing ambitious founders building practical, scalable solutions for a climate-changed world and supporting them not just with capital, but with the hands-on venture-building support they need to grow." — Maelis Carraro, Founder & General Partner, Catalyst Fund 

The portfolio of 28 fast-growing companies already shows the breadth of that thesis in action. Keep It Cool, a 2024 Earthshot Prize winner, is building solar-powered cold-chain infrastructure for fisherfolk and poultry farmers in Kenya. MazaoHub, a Tanzanian agritech startup, combines AI-powered soil intelligence with on-the-ground agronomy support and digital market access to help smallholder farmers improve yields and livelihoods. Bekia runs a tech-enabled circular economy platform in Egypt connecting waste producers – households and businesses – with collectors, logistics partners, and trusted recyclers to turn recycling into a profitable, closed loop. These are the kinds of practical, scalable businesses Catalyst Fund believes will de-Africa's climate resilience economy. 

“Across Africa, entrepreneurs supported through Catalyst Fund are strengthening livelihoods, expanding access to essential services, and creating quality jobs in underserved communities. Through IFC’s partnership with Catalyst Fund, we are mobilising capital and expertise to help these early‑stage ventures scale sustainably, attract private investors, and deliver lasting impact for people and markets.” — Farid Fezoua, Global Director for Disruptive Technologies, Services, and Funds, International Finance Corporation (IFC).

“FASA’s mission is to reduce the funding gap faced by agri-SMEs in Africa by mobilising catalytic capital, empowering investment managers, and fostering a supportive ecosystem. We chose Catalyst Fund because their investment strategy and their embedded venture-building model perfectly address the critical gaps faced by early-stage climate entrepreneurs. Beyond our $5 million junior equity investment to derisk the fund and unlock additional funding from co-investors, we are committed to providing targeted technical assistance to strengthen the fund’s capacities and support its most promising agri-startups” — Mamadou Ndao, Investment Director, FASA 

The company-building model is central to Catalyst Fund’s approach. Rather than acting as a passive investor, the firm works alongside founders as a true co-builder from the earliest stages of the journey. By pairing equity investment with embedded venture-building support from BFA Global, Catalyst Fund helps companies navigate the priorities that matter most – from refining strategy and product to hiring, commercial traction, partnerships, follow-on fundraising, and operational scale. The model is designed to keep incentives aligned from day one and give founders the kind of practical support that is often missing in early-stage investing. 

"Climate shocks are already a reality for millions of people across Africa and founders building adaptation solutions urgently need access to the right kind of early support. Catalyst Fund backs entrepreneurs early and works alongside them to turn proven ideas into scalable businesses. We’re pleased to support this second close and help channel more capital to founders addressing critical climate resilience needs.” — Jonathan Berman, CEO, Shell Foundation 

The second close also widens the fund's circle of backers, bringing in a broad mix of development finance, corporate, family offices, and foundations – including some investors making their first commitment to Africa. 

“We are proud to make our first impact investing commitment through Catalyst Climate Resilience Fund I, backing bold African founders building the adaptation solutions that vulnerable communities need most. By investing in the junior tranche, we aim to be catalytic, helping unlock additional capital into a space that is critical, yet chronically underfunded.” — Dario Soto-Abril, Trafigura Foundation 

The firm is betting that climate resilience in Africa is not just an impact story, but one of the most important venture opportunities emerging on the continent. As climate shocks intensify, demand is rising for affordable, scalable solutions that help communities and economies adapt. Catalyst Fund believes the next generation of category-defining African startups will be built in that gap - and that backing them early can deliver outsized impact and strong returns for investors. 

“Backing a first-time strategy early is where catalytic capital does its most important work. We committed to Catalyst Fund before first close, helping build the track record that has shown climate adaptation in Africa is investable from pre-seed to Series A, where the need is greatest, and capital is scarcest. The fund's second close is a strong validation of that early conviction, and we're pleased to see it attracting the broader investor base needed to scale climate adaptation investing across Africa.” — Juliet Munro, Director, Early-Stage Finance, for FSD Africa and FSD Africa Investments (FSDAi).

Press release:

REACH, one of the world’s most prestigious real estate technology accelerators, is launching a second programme in the UAE to support exciting proptech start-ups and the $1.3 trillion Middle East real estate pipeline. The programme provides each start-up with funding, world-class mentorship from experienced entrepreneurs and subject matter experts, access to local and global networking, and exposure to investor communities.

After the success of the inaugural REACH Middle East cohort, including achieving new product launches, the attraction of robust investment rounds and exponential customer growth, REACH Middle East – the local arm of the global initiative – will run its next programme from November 2026 to August 2027. Applications are now open, with innovative businesses solving real-world property challenges invited to participate. The closing date for applications is 30 August, 2026.

Aligned with the agendas of the region

The programme prioritises national and Emirate-led initiatives, including the UAE Digital Economy Strategy, the Dubai Economic Agenda (D33) and the Dubai Real Estate Strategy 2033.

It is endorsed by the Dubai Land Department and managed by Second Century Ventures, the world’s most active global real estate technology fund. Dubai Technology Entrepreneurship Campus (Dtec) will once again provide physical space and support to new startups, as part of its commitment to Dubai’s technology ecosystem. Dubai Future District Fund will also support the initiative in line with its goals to accelerate the growth of real estate innovation.

Siddiq Farid, Managing Director of REACH Middle East, said: “The regional real estate market continues to defy expectations; where other markets would have cowered in a corner, the bravery and determination of people and businesses across the region continues to shine through. There are still challenges ahead but confidence is rapidly returning and I believe this confirms that Dubai has the most resilient real estate market in the world.

Now, we are looking for the next wave of proptech talent – the businesses that meet the needs of the market and provide solutions that support real estate to thrive. We look forward to receiving some exciting applications.”

REACH Middle East’s first cohort included seven start-ups, who will graduate from the programme in August.

To learn more about the second cohort and how to participate, click here.

Press release:

Anghami Inc. (NASDAQ: ANGH) ("Anghami" or the "Company") today confirmed receipt of a preliminary, non-binding proposal (the "Proposal") from OSN Streaming Limited ("OSN"), the Company's controlling shareholder, to acquire all of the outstanding ordinary shares (the "Ordinary Shares") of the Company not already owned by OSN in a going-private transaction.

OSN's proposed purchase price is $3.39 in cash per Ordinary Share (the "Offer Price"). OSN currently owns approximately 67% of the Company's issued and outstanding Ordinary Shares. OSN has indicated that it expects to fund the acquisition with equity or other financing from its shareholders and their affiliates and that the acquisition will not be subject to a financing condition. A copy of the proposal letter from OSN is available as an exhibit to OSN's statement of beneficial ownership on Schedule 13D/A as publicly filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

In connection with receipt of the Proposal, the Board of Directors of the Company (the "Board") has appointed three new directors: Nathan Scott Fine, Guergui Saykov Stoyanov and Chiara Marcati. The Board has determined that each of the foregoing directors is independent under the listing standards of The Nasdaq Stock Market LLC, has no material relationship with OSN or interest in the Proposal, and is not an employee, affiliate or nominee of OSN.

Mr. Fine is an ex-officio (non-voting) Director and Vice Chairman of Rafael Holdings, Inc. Previously, Mr. Fine served as Chief Executive Officer of Cyclo Therapeutics, LLC (formerly Cyclo Therapeutics, Inc., which since March 2025 has been a wholly-owned subsidiary of Rafael Holdings, Inc.). Mr. Fine has been involved in investment banking for over 35 years, working on a multitude of debt and equity financings, mergers and acquisitions, strategic advisory work, and corporate restructurings. Since 2014, he has served on the Board of Kenon Holdings, Inc., where he serves as Chair of its Compensation Committee and is a member of its Audit Committee. He previously served as Vice Chairman and Chairman of the Restructuring Committee of Pacific Drilling SA from 2017 to 2018 and as a Director of Central European Distribution Corporation from 1996 until 2014. Mr. Fine attended New Hampshire College.

Mr. Stoyanov is the Founder and CEO of StoGeo, a global advisory firm focused on business strategy and next-generation leadership, a position he has held since 2008. Prior to his current role, Mr. Stoyanov served as Partner and Head of Markets at Grant Thornton UAE, and previously held senior positions at EY and PwC in the Middle East, with over 25 years of experience in management consulting, corporate governance, and risk management. Mr. Stoyanov is a Certified Six Sigma Black Belt, Certified Internal Auditor, and Certified Financial Consultant. He holds a Master of Business Administration from London Business School and dual Bachelor of Science degrees in International Business Management and Psychology from the University of Maryland.

Ms. Marcati serves as Chief Advisory and Business Officer at AI71, a UAE-headquartered company building agentic, sovereign-grade AI platforms, where she leads strategy, ecosystem partnerships, and public-sector advisory. Previously, she was a Partner at McKinsey & Company, where she led the QuantumBlack AI practice across EMEA and built a 100+ person AI hub delivering applied AI solutions at scale. Ms. Marcati is a frequent speaker on AI governance and transformation, with keynote appearances at global forums including LEAP and the AI Global Summit. She holds degrees in Engineering and Business from the University of Pisa, HEC Paris, and NYU Stern.

In response to the Proposal, the Board has formed a special committee (the "Special Committee") composed solely of the three newly appointed independent and disinterested directors, Nathan Scott Fine (Chairman), Guergui Saykov Stoyanov and Chiara Marcati, to review, evaluate and negotiate the Proposal and any potential strategic alternatives and to determine the course of action that is in the best interests of the Company and its shareholders that are not affiliated with OSN. The Special Committee has been authorised to exercise all lawfully delegable powers of the Board in connection with the Proposal, including the authority to retain independent legal and financial advisors to assist it in its review and deliberations.

The Special Committee has full authority to evaluate, negotiate and, if it determines appropriate, reject the Proposal. The Company will not approve or enter any transaction with OSN without the Special Committee's prior favourable recommendation. Any such transaction would also remain subject to final approval of the Board and to any required approval of the Company's shareholders.  The Special Committee is under no obligation to recommend or approve any transaction, and the Company may continue as a publicly listed company.

There can be no assurance that any definitive offer will be made or accepted, that any agreement will be executed, or that the proposed transaction or any other transaction will be approved or consummated. The Company does not intend to disclose further developments regarding this matter unless and until further disclosure is determined to be appropriate or necessary. No action is required by Anghami shareholders at this time.

Press release:

Propeller, the venture capital firm focused on AI technology and infrastructure, announced the successful conclusion of Kernel Camp, its inaugural deep-tech residency programme based in Silicon Valley. 

Five startups from Tunisia, Morocco, Jordan, and Egypt completed an intensive eight-week residency in the Bay Area, designed to accelerate company building, receive mentorship from leaders at the frontier of artificial intelligence development, and connect with global investors.

The five Kernel Camp 2026 startups, selected from the top 3% of applicants, represent the frontier of AI infrastructure, developer tooling, and cybersecurity:

OORB (Tunisia): A robotics observability platform that captures every robot run, scores reliability, and identifies what changed when behaviour breaks. 

​Techbible (Morocco): An AI Stack Manager for modern companies that maps every SaaS tool and AI agent, tracks spend, usage, and renewals, and shows you what software is actually doing the work.

FirstFlow (Jordan): The activation layer for AI agents, an in-chat onboarding platform that guides users from first message to full adoption through structured clarification widgets embedded directly in the agent’s chat interface.

Nexguards (Egypt): AI-powered social engineering platform, providing personalised cyber attack simulation and awareness training for enterprises.

Flowbrave (Morocco): Intelligent operations platform that bridges the Execution Gap, turning static processes into dynamic, AI-guided workflows for flawless performance.

Throughout the residency, founders engaged directly with operators, executives, and investors shaping the future of AI and software through weekly mentorship dinners featuring leaders from Airbnb, Meta, OpenAI, JP Morgan, Cartesia, Rho, Lux Capital, Mozilla Ventures, Plug and Play, and Mentors Fund. 

The cohort also joined a dedicated angel investor happy hour event hosted at Silicon Valley Bank's offices on Sand Hill Road, bringing together a group of Bay Area angels for direct access to the startups.

The cohort also participated in a series of site visits to leading Silicon Valley technology companies, offering firsthand exposure to the teams, cultures, and operating environments behind some of the world's most influential AI and software businesses.

Zaid Farekh, Founder & Managing Partner at Propeller, said, "We believe MENA produces founders capable of building globally significant companies, but talent alone isn't enough. Kernel Camp is designed to immerse founders in the networks, operating culture, and technical communities that have historically accelerated the world's most ambitious startups.”

Hani Azzam, Partner at Propeller, added: “The question was never whether MENA founders could compete globally. Kernel Camp was about giving them the environment to prove it, and this cohort did exactly that.”

The final showcase took place on May 30th and featured live startup pitches, followed by a panel exploring the growing impact of MENA talent within Silicon Valley startups. A panel discussion exploring the growing impact of MENA talent within Silicon Valley startups with Ahmed Rashad (Perle AI) and Ahmad Saeddedin (Corgea, YC S23) and a fireside chat with Waseem Alshikh, CTO and Co-Founder of Writer. 

Building on the momentum of its first cohort, Propeller is already preparing the next edition of Kernel Camp, with plans to continue bringing exceptional founders from the MENA region into the heart of Silicon Valley's AI and technology ecosystem. 

Press release:

BrainsMingle.com, an AI-driven, video-first professional network designed to prioritise authentic human connection, today announced a $400,000 strategic seed investment from BasharSoft Group. As Egypt's and MENA’s leading human capital technology institution, BasharSoft’s investment marks a pivotal moment in the evolution of professional infrastructure for experts, communities, and ambitious professionals worldwide.

This partnership represents BasharSoft’s first strategic investment since its acquisition of iCareer last year. BasharSoft Group, which serves over 9 million users through its flagship platforms WUZZUF and Forasna, as well as iCareer and Recruitera, is betting on BrainsMingle to lead the next generation of professional engagement and knowledge-sharing technologies.

Globally, ambitious professionals carry the same invisible burden. On one side, an expert runs sessions on Zoom, manages bookings through Calendly, collects payments through a separate tool, keeps their community alive on Skool or Circle, and builds their presence on LinkedIn. Five tools, five logins, five broken experiences stitched together into something that was never designed to work as one. On the other, a professional hungry to grow is left scrolling through noise, sitting through generic webinars, and searching across platforms for the right expert, the right community, and the real conversations that could actually move their career forward. The problem is not a lack of talent or ambition. It is a lack of infrastructure. 

BrainsMingle was built to solve this, a professional home where experts deliver live sessions, manage bookings and payments, and build thriving communities, while ambitious professionals discover world-class expertise, engage with mentors across the globe, and connect face-to-face with peers who are worth their time. All in one place. It is not a tool. It is not a feed. It is a home.

BrainsMingle has already attracted professionals and communities from more than 90 countries. What works for one expert works for an entire organisation. Organisations, educational institutions, accelerators, universities, and enterprises use the platform as a branded internal hub for communication, learning, mentorship, networking, and community engagement. A private hub of their own — fully branded and fully under their control — where members gather instead of scattering across disconnected tools. Inside it, an organisation runs its communication and engagement, connects members through advanced automated speed networking, hosts office hours and 1:1 mentorship, and replaces the traditional learning management system with a modern one. The same home that helps a single expert build an audience lets a global institution bring its students, staff, and alumni together under one roof — its own.

Belal Amin, Co-Founder and CEO of BrainsMingle, said: "We built BrainsMingle around one belief: the most valuable professional moments happen between people, not between people and content. The world does not need another feed to scroll or another profile to maintain. It needs a home, a single place where an ambitious professional can show up, share what they know, and build a community around it. BrainsMingle was never built for one country or one region. It was built for every professional on the planet who has real expertise to share and no single place worthy of it. BasharSoft's investment is a powerful validation of that vision and a commitment to building it the right way."

Ameer Sherif, Executive Chairman of BasharSoft, added, "For fifteen years, BasharSoft has connected talent to opportunity. We identified a significant gap in how knowledge and experience are shared online. BrainsMingle has built the technology necessary to fill this gap, replacing multiple global tools with a single, sophisticated network that resonates with our mission to empower 50 million people in their careers by 2030."

This investment fuels BrainsMingle's mission to unite millions of minds in a single, connected professional network spanning technology, entrepreneurship, creative industries, and beyond. BrainsMingle is becoming the home for the next billion breakthroughs, the place where the conversations, communities, and connections that the world's professionals deserve finally have a home. A home that reshapes how careers are built, knowledge transferred, and professionals rise.

Press release:

1001, a GCC- and London-based company building sovereign AI for critical infrastructure, today announced a $30 million Series A led by Lux Capital. PIF-owned Sanabil Investments, 9Yards and Hanabi joined the round, and existing backers General Catalyst, CIV and Stanford AI researcher Chris Ré all increased their commitments. A number of regional and global angel investors also backed the firm, including Karim Atiyeh (Co-founder & CTO, Ramp), Kareem Amin (Co-founder & CEO, Clay), Russell Kaplan (President, Cognition), Shayan Shafii, Daniel Garber and Junaid Hussain. 

The round backs a clear conviction: the Middle East is no longer just a customer for technology built elsewhere, but where applied AI is proven in the real world. The bigger bet behind it is that sovereignty in the next decade will depend on whether countries can build, operate and govern their own AI in the sectors that matter most, not just buy it from abroad.

“The GCC runs some of the world's most important infrastructure, managing a significant share of global oil flows, container traffic and international aviation,” said Bilal Abu-Ghazaleh, founder and CEO of 1001. "Business leaders here don't just want pilots. They want sovereign systems that deliver measurable results and make thousands of real-time decisions they can trust. This is the work we've set out to do, and this round lets us go deeper and bring the best local and global talent to it.” 

Founded in 2025 by Abu-Ghazaleh, 1001 sits above the systems an operator already runs and builds a live working model of the operation itself: every asset, process, dependency and constraint. Where operators today make thousands of high-stakes decisions under pressure, with no unified or intelligent system to make them consistently and at scale, 1001 does more than show what is happening. It identifies what is about to go wrong and what to do about it, recommending or executing the best action earlier, faster and more intelligently than was ever possible before. The systems are built, owned and governed locally, so clients retain full control of infrastructure they cannot afford to have switched off.

1001's systems apply to any high-value operational problem where better data and intelligence can improve decisions across the full range of physical and critical infrastructure, including aviation, ports and logistics, energy, industrials and manufacturing. McKinsey estimates broader AI adoption could add up to $150 billion to GCC economies, about 9% of combined GDP, with critical infrastructure among the highest-value opportunities.

"Bilal and the 1001 team are exactly the kind of founders we take pride in backing: mission-driven, technically world-class, and building in one of the most consequential environments anywhere. They are proving that frontier AI for critical infrastructure can be built, owned and governed locally, rather than imported from abroad. We are especially proud to lead this round and to partner with 1001 as it helps the GCC build not just AI, but the capability to run its most important systems," said Deena Shakir, Partner at Lux Capital.

“GCC economies are investing at unprecedented scale in data, compute and infrastructure, and the focus now is on building local capability to operate these assets with trusted AI," said a spokesperson from Sanabil Investments. "We believe 1001 is well positioned to become a key sovereign AI partner for institutions across all critical infrastructure."

The new capital will scale 1001's team, especially engineering, and build out its commercial and go-to-market presence across key GCC markets. The company already draws top technical talent from leading global institutions, including Yale, Stanford and Carnegie Mellon. 

1001 has previously been backed by prominent angel investors including Amjad Masad (Replit), Amira Sajwani (DAMAC), Khalid Bin Bader Al Saud (RAED Ventures), and Hisham Al-Falih (Lean Technologies).

Press release:

Beltone Venture Capital (BVC), a subsidiary of Beltone Holding, is doubling down on two of Egypt's most compelling consumer success stories: a direct-to-consumer digital-led home furnishing brand ariika and healthy F&B pioneer, Lychee, as both companies prepare to significantly deepen their footprint in Saudi Arabia with a combined five new stores opening in Riyadh.

The move signals a decisive new chapter in BVC's strategy: not merely writing cheques but actively building homegrown Egyptian brands into becoming dominant regional players.

Ali Mokhtar, CEO of Beltone Venture Capital: "ariika and Lychee represent exactly what we look for: homegrown Egyptian brands with proven profitability, exceptional leadership, and the ambition to redefine their categories across the region. We are long-term partners in building the next generation of MENA consumer powerhouses. With a combined five new stores opening in Riyadh, this is just the beginning."

Khaled Attallah, CEO and Co-Founder of ariika: "Saudi Arabia has always been central to our regional vision. Opening two stores in Riyadh is not just an expansion, it is a statement. We have built a brand that resonates deeply with consumers who value design, quality, and an exceptional experience, and we are confident that ariika will find its home in the Saudi market just as it has across Egypt and Iraq. This is the next chapter, and we are only getting started."

Mohamed Assy, Founder and CEO of Lychee: "We have been building this moment for years. Saudi Arabia is not just another market for us; it is the foundation of our regional ambition. We spent considerable time understanding the Saudi consumer deeply – their rhythms, their tastes, and their expectations – before committing to this expansion. Opening three stores in Riyadh is our declaration that Lychee belongs in this market, and we intend to lead the healthy F&B space here just as we have done in Egypt."

Retail investors are becoming a larger growth engine

Institutional investors continue to dominate the GCC market, accounting for 93% of regional assets under management. However, retail investment is expanding at a much faster pace.

Retail AuM grew 14% in 2025, compared with 9% for institutional assets, suggesting individual investors are gradually playing a larger role in regional capital markets.

Saudi Arabia remains the region's largest retail investment market, leading both the GCC and the wider Middle East in retail mutual funds and exchange-traded funds (ETFs). The UAE and Kuwait follow, while the Kingdom's General Organization for Social Insurance Public Pension Agency (GOSI-PPA) remains the region's largest pension fund. Kuwait Investment Authority continues to hold the largest pool of externally managed sovereign wealth assets in the GCC.

Although retail assets still represent only around 7% of total AuM, their faster growth reflects a broader shift as individual investors become an increasingly important source of capital for the region's financial markets.

Market growth alone is no longer enough

The report argues that the industry's biggest challenge is no longer growing assets but sustaining profitability.

Globally, assets under management reached $147 trillion in 2025, up 11% from the previous year. However, more than 80% of revenue growth was driven by rising financial markets rather than fresh client inflows. At the same time, fee compression and mounting technology investment are making it harder for firms to translate higher assets into stronger earnings.

The result is a more competitive landscape where attracting new capital matters more than simply benefiting from favourable market performance. Firms capable of consistently generating net inflows are increasingly separating themselves from the rest of the industry.

Distribution is becoming the industry's competitive edge

One of the report's central conclusions is that distribution is overtaking investment performance as the industry's primary competitive advantage.

As investment products become increasingly standardised, firms are competing less on what they manufacture and more on how effectively they reach investors. Control of distribution channels, whether through banks, wealth advisers, digital investment platforms or institutional partnerships, is becoming the defining factor in capturing new assets.

For GCC asset managers, this shift is particularly significant. The region's expanding retail investor base, combined with rapidly developing digital financial infrastructure, creates an opportunity for firms that invest early in scalable distribution capabilities.

As Lukasz Rey, Managing Director and Partner and Middle East Head of Financial Institutions at BCG, notes, firms that strengthen both their distribution capabilities and technological infrastructure will be best positioned to navigate an increasingly competitive market.

AI is changing the economics of asset management

Artificial intelligence is expected to reshape the industry's operating model rather than simply improve efficiency.

BCG estimates AI could reduce operating costs by 25% to 35% over the next three to five years while expanding investment research coverage by two to five times and allowing relationship managers to serve significantly more clients through personalised advice and automation.

The report argues that AI enables firms to scale without proportionally increasing headcount, fundamentally changing the economics of growth. Yet despite its potential, most asset managers remain in the early stages of adoption, focusing on pilot projects instead of redesigning their organisations around AI-enabled workflows.

For GCC firms, this presents an opportunity to leapfrog traditional operating models by embedding AI into core investment, client servicing and operational functions from the outset.

Tokenisation could reshape financial markets

Alongside AI, tokenisation is emerging as another structural force with the potential to redefine the industry.

BCG projects the value of tokenised real-world assets could reach $14 trillion by 2030 before expanding to $55 trillion by 2035, opening new channels for ownership, distribution and product development.

For financial centres across the GCC, where regulators have actively embraced digital assets and financial innovation, tokenisation could accelerate the development of new investment products while lowering barriers to entry for both investors and asset managers.

A new phase for the Gulf's investment industry

The GCC's asset management industry enters this next chapter from a position of strength, supported by deep pools of institutional capital, growing retail participation and some of the world's largest sovereign investors. But scale alone will no longer guarantee success.

As investment products become increasingly commoditised and technology reshapes every stage of the value chain, firms will need to compete on distribution, operational efficiency and personalised client experiences rather than assets alone. Those that successfully integrate AI into their operating models while building stronger investor networks will be best positioned to capture the industry's next wave of growth.

For the Gulf, the challenge is shifting from benefiting from favourable market conditions to building an asset management ecosystem capable of competing on a global stage. If BCG's outlook proves accurate, the region's next growth story will be defined not by how much capital it manages, but by how intelligently it manages it.

Press release:

Lean Technologies and Ziina have launched the UAE's first One-Tap Pay by Bank experience under the Open Finance framework, marking a significant step in the maturation of account-to-account payments in the region.

Built on Lean's Deposits solution, the capability enables Ziina users to securely connect their bank account once and make future wallet top-ups with a single tap – no re-entry of credentials, no redirect to a bank portal.

The launch demonstrates that Pay by Bank in the UAE has moved beyond one-time transactions. With the underlying infrastructure in place and regulation live, the focus now shifts to building the recurring, low-friction experiences that drive everyday usage.

Developed in partnership with Lean, the capability combines Ziina's consumer payment experience with Lean's Open Finance infrastructure, demonstrating how account-to-account payments can support increasingly seamless digital payment journeys.

Omar Hamada, VP of Sales at Lean, said, "Pay by Bank has been live in the UAE for some time, but until now, it has only been available as single instant payments. Working with Ziina, we've shown that the infrastructure is capable of supporting recurring, low-effort payment experiences, the kind that make a payment method genuinely part of how people pay every day. That is the direction the market is heading, and this is the first example of it.”

Talal Toukan, Co-Founder and Head of Engineering at Ziina, said, "People expect financial products to be as simple and intuitive as the best consumer technology they use every day. Funding your wallet is one of the most common actions within Ziina, so making that experience faster and more seamless was a natural next step for us. Working with Lean, we've been able to reduce friction in a way that makes managing and moving money feel more effortless for our users." 

The announcement was made at Pay by Bank: The Default Way to Pay, Lean's flagship industry event, which brought together more than 150 leaders from across banking, fintech, commerce, and regulation to discuss the future of account-to-account payments in the UAE and wider region.

Press release:

LAB7, the venture-building arm of Aramco, has backed CONIX.AI, a Saudi-based technology startup developing AI-powered architectural design and regulatory compliance solutions. Through this partnership, LAB7’s award-winning B2Code engine will be integrated into CONIX.AI’s regulatory compliance platform, E-Comply, will help strengthen its ability to deliver end-to-end solutions for engineering offices, developers, and government entities. 

CONIX.AI offers an AI-powered engineering design platform that incorporates regulatory and engineering requirements to deliver architectural plans in minutes. Its compliance software automatically reviews documents against regulatory requirements, generating code-compliant designs while reducing the risk of costly revisions. In addition, CONIX.AI supports complex urban development projects by digitising and streamlining the building permit and approval processes.

B2Code, a proprietary technology developed by LAB7 and licensed to CONIX.AI, will complement CONIX.AI’s E-Comply platform. Recognised by the prestigious Edison Awards for Best New Product, B2Code automates compliance reporting, providing an efficient and accurate solution for the construction industry. Its advanced engine is designed to validate floor plans directly against regulatory requirements, helping ensure compliance from the earliest stages of design.

The integration of B2Code into E-Comply will enable more comprehensive compliance assessments that cover both national building codes and local municipal requirements. By automating critical validation processes and identifying potential issues earlier in the design cycle, the combined solution is expected to offer significant value to regulators and engineering offices alike.

The collaboration reflects the growing momentum of the Kingdom’s innovation ecosystem and highlights the value of combining tech innovation with market-ready applications. By bringing together advanced artificial intelligence, automated compliance validation, and practical industry workflows, the partnership aims to address key challenges in the construction and urban development sectors while supporting the Kingdom’s broader digital transformation objectives.

As a leading deep-tech venture builder, LAB7 plays a pivotal role in accelerating the commercialisation of breakthrough technologies. The successful development of B2Code demonstrates LAB7’s ability to transform innovative concepts into impactful solutions that solve real-world problems through collaboration with startups, industry partners, and technology innovators.

Press release:

DUBAI, UAE – AXON successfully concluded its exclusive Investor Summit in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, bringing together a distinguished group of investors, decision-makers, and leaders from the fintech and investment sectors across the Kingdom and the wider region to discuss the future of financial infrastructure connecting traditional finance with the digital economy.

The event was attended by representatives from some of Saudi Arabia's leading investment firms and financial institutions, including organizations connected to the Kingdom's national investment ecosystem and prominent venture capital funds such as the Ministry of Investment, Raed Ventures, Sadu Capital, and Takamol Ventures, alongside representatives from other investment firms, funds, and financial technology companies. More than 50 influential figures from Saudi Arabia's investment, entrepreneurship, and fintech communities participated in the summit.

Held under the theme "Connecting Traditional Finance with the Digital Economy: The Future of Financial Infrastructure in the GCC," the summit showcased AXON's vision of building a unified financial orchestration layer that seamlessly connects banks, payment networks, stablecoins, and digital asset infrastructure within a fully integrated ecosystem designed to meet the highest standards of regulatory compliance. 

During the event, the AXON team presented an overview of the company's flagship products, including AXON Transfer and AXON Pay, which are designed to simplify and accelerate cross-border payments and settlements. The platform aims to reduce settlement times for international transfers and payments from several days to as little as one hour. The company also presented its product roadmap and expansion plans across Saudi Arabia as well as regional and global markets.

The summit concluded with the signing of a strategic investment agreement between AXON and Maarej Real Estate, under which Maarej committed an investment of approximately SAR 4 million (approximately $1 million) in the company. The investment reflects growing confidence in AXON's vision and its role in developing the next generation of financial infrastructure across the region.

Commenting on the occasion, Malek Alzubi, Co-Founder and CEO of AXON, said:

"We are witnessing a fundamental transformation in the way value moves across the global economy. Our mission at AXON is to build the infrastructure that enables institutions to move seamlessly between traditional and digital financial systems within a comprehensive regulatory framework. Maarej's investment marks an important milestone in our journey and reinforces the market's confidence in the growth opportunities we are creating."

For his part, Tamim Al-Juhani, Chairman of Maarej Real Estate, said that the investment reflects the company's strong belief in AXON's significant potential and its ability to play a pivotal role in supporting the region's financial transformation. He added that the investment aligns with the objectives of Saudi Vision 2030 and contributes to strengthening the Kingdom's position as a global hub for financial innovation. The agreement also marks the beginning of a strategic partnership between the two companies to support AXON's growth and expand its presence in the Saudi market.

AXON continues to advance its regulatory approvals while expanding strategic partnerships with leading global financial and technology institutions. The company's long-term vision is to establish a unified financial layer connecting traditional banking systems with modern digital infrastructure, helping accelerate cross-border trade and payments across the region and beyond.

Press release:

Revora, formerly known as MyAlice, is purpose-built for the way e-commerce should run: AI agents that close the sale in conversation, built on a structured product catalog designed for how customers will discover and buy as commerce shifts toward AI

Revora today announced their $2M  seed round and a rebrand from MyAlice, marking a shift from a conversational commerce tool to an AI operating platform for e-commerce merchants. The bet is simple: the merchants who win the next decade won't be the ones with the most tools but the ones who replaced them with a smarter, integrated AI layer.

The round was co-led by i2i Ventures & Oraseya Capital, with participation from Anchorless Bangladesh, Conjunction Capital, F6 Ventures, Hi2 Global, Orbit Startups, and strategic angels, including Salman Butt (co-founder, Salla) and operators from Bolt, Mubadala & EY.

What Revora is building

Revora's AI agents start where every merchant feels the most pain: closing the sale. These agents recommend products, recover carts and take payment inside the conversation, whether that's on WhatsApp, Instagram or the brand's own site, in the customer's own dialect. Brands using Revora’s AI-led sales and campaigns see a 15-20% revenue increase, showcasing the tangible value of the product.

Revora also turns every merchant's product catalogue into clean, structured data. That catalogue is the long-term bet. As commerce shifts toward AI-powered search and shopping agents globally, that same structured data is what allows a merchant's products to be found, recommended and bought. Every merchant that joins Revora adds to a commerce graph that no messaging vendor, helpdesk or model provider can replicate.

AI is changing how people buy, not just how companies sell. We’re building Revora on one bet: that the businesses winning the next decade are the ones an AI can understand, represent, and sell for, added Shuvo Rahman, co-founder, Revora

The bet is already paying off

Revora is already live in 21+ countries and the company’s revenue grew 10x since the company focused on Saudi Arabia and the GCC in late 2024, and the team has plans to deepen their presence in the region with this latest funding round.

The signal that matters most to us isn’t the funding. It’s that merchants using Revora are generating real revenue from it. 'That's the metric we’re obsessed with, and the one we are building for,' added Daniyal Baig, co-founder, Revora

Where the round goes

The round proceeds go towards growth in Saudi Arabia primarily, Revora’s largest and fastest-growing market, and into the product as the company builds for a future where more buying runs through AI.

The founders

Revora was co-founded by Shuvo Rahman and Daniyal Baig. Daniyal spent over 12 years in the MENA region in leadership roles across media and fintech, most recently as COO of Forbes Middle East. In parallel, he built and ran an inventory management product for small merchants across the region, a first-hand lesson in the operational gaps that still plague independent commerce today.

Shuvo brings the product and technical depth. Revora is his second startup, following a successful exit from his agritech venture iFarmer, where he helped build a data and technology platform that connects smallholder farmers with financing, advisory services, and market access.

Together they bring a rare combination of operator experience, founder scars and repeat conviction to a market most outsiders are still trying to figure out. They are building a company that is emerging-market native, built to address the unique needs of the region.

Investor statements

"We are thrilled to back the team at Revora. They have built a product that cuts through the AI noise with tangible value today & real scale potential. A product built from emerging markets for the region &  traction that speaks for itself. Exactly the kind of bet we back at i2i Ventures – Kalsoom Lakhani, Co-founder/General Partner, i2i Ventures

“Revora is precisely what talent in Bangladesh and Pakistan looks like when backed with conviction, a team that has consistently built ahead of the curve and generated real revenue from agentic AI in the Middle East. We backed Shuvo and team from the very beginning and are proud to double down as they scale” — Rahat Ahmed, General Partner, Anchorless Bangladesh

“E-commerce is and will remain an early adopter of AI. We are proud to back Revora in its mission to help merchants succeed by providing solutions that improve operational, and customer outcomes. - Omar Khan, Partner, Oraseya Capital 

Press release:

As the challenges of climate change, water stress, and rising agricultural production costs continue to grow, precision technologies are emerging as a strategic lever to strengthen the productivity and resilience of farms.

In this context, 216 Capital announces its entry into the capital of RoboCare, a Tunisian startup specialising in precision agriculture and artificial intelligence applied to the agricultural sector, through a six-figure investment.

This deal aims to support RoboCare's next growth phase and its expansion into African and Middle Eastern markets.

A Technology for Higher-Performing and Sustainable Agriculture

Founded in Sfax, RoboCare develops an agricultural management platform that helps farmers make better decisions through the intelligent use of multiple data sources: satellite imagery, drone data, IoT sensors, weather data, and field expertise.

Through its AI models, the solution enables early detection of crop diseases and stress, optimises resource usage, and improves farm performance. Field results are significant:

• Up to 35% water savings
• Up to 25% reduction in agricultural inputs
• Up to 20% yield increase

By combining artificial intelligence, agronomy, and data analysis, RoboCare enables farmers to improve productivity while reducing their environmental impact.

Expertise Built for MENA Agricultural Realities

One of RoboCare's key differentiators is its specialised approach to crops that are strategic for the region, particularly olive trees, cereals, and processing tomatoes.

Unlike generalist agricultural platforms, RoboCare builds its models from local data to address the specific soil and climate conditions found in North Africa and the Middle East. This approach allows the startup to deliver agronomic recommendations precisely tailored to the needs of regional farmers and agribusiness players.

RoboCare already monitors several thousand hectares under intelligent surveillance and has generated thousands of agronomic alerts, enabling operators to respond faster and more effectively.

The startup has also established partnerships with several institutional players and is gaining growing visibility within international AgriTech ecosystems.

An Investment to Accelerate Regional Expansion

With this funding, RoboCare plans to accelerate its development along three priority axes:

• Commercial expansion into new markets in Africa and the Middle East
• Strengthening its commercial teams to accelerate adoption of its solution among major agribusiness players
• Continuous improvement of its AI models to address new agricultural contexts

“For 216 Capital, this investment fully aligns with its strategy of supporting high-potential tech startups capable of delivering concrete answers to the continent's major economic, social, and environmental challenges," states Hassen Arfaoui, Principal at 216 Capital.

As agriculture represents a key sector for food security and economic growth across many African and MENA countries, RoboCare aims to become one of the leading players in agricultural digital transformation at the regional scale.

Press release:

Keiretsu Forum MENA, the regional chapter of Keiretsu Forum, the world's largest angel investor network founded in Silicon Valley, California, has entered into a strategic partnership with FinBursa to strengthen its startup advisory, investor engagement, and deal management capabilities. The partnership brings together Keiretsu Forum’s high-conviction deal curation and regional investor network with FinBursa’s intelligent deal infrastructure to create a more efficient and transparent investment experience across private markets.

Keiretsu operates the region’s leading startup investment and advisory ecosystem, connecting high-potential startups with accredited angel investors, family offices, venture capital firms, corporate investors, and institutional investors.

Keiretsu continues to expand its regional footprint through strategic initiatives across North Africa and the GCC, including entrepreneurship programs in Morocco, investor engagement activities in Qatar, and expansion efforts in Saudi Arabia and Egypt. Through its investor network, advisory services, and ecosystem partnerships, Keiretsu Forum supports the development of investment-ready startups, connecting them to the capital and networks needed to scale.

To match that standard operationally, Keiretsu went live with FinBursa across its entire workflow. The platform replaces fragmented tools with a single, connected environment: pipeline intake, deal staging, NDA-protected virtual data rooms, investment CRM, investor-facing portals, and fundraising management — all powered by FinBursa’s agentic operating intelligence across every module. As the global deal platform for private markets, FinBursa brings institutional-grade infrastructure to advisory networks wherever they operate.

“The quality of our deal flow has always been our signature. FinBursa gives us the backbone to deliver that quality at every touchpoint — from a startup entering our pipeline to an investor committing. It is exactly what our advisory practice needed,” said Mahmood Jassim, Board Member of Keiretsu Forum MENA.

“Keiretsu Forum is the kind of organisation FinBursa was built for — where the investor experience is the product. Seeing them run their full deal lifecycle on our platform, with AI across every stage, strongly validates where private markets infrastructure is heading,” said Ismail Badereldine, CEO of FinBursa.

The partnership signals where MENA’s private markets are heading advisory firms replacing disconnected tools with AI-native infrastructure built to operate at scale.

About Keiretsu Forum MENA

Keiretsu Forum MENA is the regional chapter of the world’s largest angel investor network, connecting accredited investors, family offices, venture capital firms, corporate investors, and institutional investors with high-potential startups across the Middle East and North Africa. Through startup advisory, fundraising support, investor engagement programs, ecosystem partnerships, the organisation supports entrepreneurship and private market investment throughout the region, with active operations and partnerships across the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Egypt, and Morocco.

About FinBursa

FinBursa is a global intelligent deal infrastructure for private markets. FinBursa covers deal management, investment CRM, virtual data rooms, fundraising, and investor portals in one connected environment, powered by FinBursa’s agentic operating intelligence serving private market professionals globally.

Press release:

Numi today emerged from stealth as the first AI-native personal finance management platform built for the GCC region. 

The company was founded by Leni Andronicos (CEO) and Usman Azim (CTO), with a team of researchers from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and Oxford University, engineers from Microsoft and IBM, and banking experts from UBS, J.P. Morgan and Standard Chartered. 

Where most personal finance apps show users their money, Numi is building a service that actually manages it autonomously. The company is teaching AI agents to handle a user’s entire financial life — paying bills, investing, and managing debt, loans and savings — with the goal of getting people the most out of every dirham. 

The company is based in the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) and has been granted access to the UAE’s Open Finance regulatory sandbox, regulated by the Central Bank of the UAE (CBUAE), as it works toward a Third Party Provider (TPP) licence. 

This product will be powered by what the company calls a “mandate model”: a network of specialised AI agents acting on a user’s behalf. At the core of the platform is Numi’s “Decision Engine”, proprietary technology developed in-house that will govern how the agents make financial decisions on a user’s behalf, built specifically around GCC financial behaviour. 

“Until now, ‘financial AI’ has meant a smarter calculator — it crunches your spending, hands you a recommendation, and leaves the actual work to you,” said Leni Andronicos, CEO and co-founder of Numi. 

"We're building Numi to close the last mile. Most financial apps will tell you to save more or pay down your credit card — Numi will actually do it for you. Connect your cards and accounts, and a team of AI agents goes to work on your behalf: paying bills on time, getting more yield on your savings, investing your spare cash, managing FX, and optimising every dirham left over."

A serial founder, Andronicos has grown consumer platforms to millions of customers across 70+ countries and has worked with companies including Spotify and American Express before relocating to Dubai to found Numi after six years building startups in Sweden. 

Azim built his career deploying technology at a global scale — leading information security for Citi's Nordic businesses, then directing the virtualisation of more than 10,000 business applications across the bank's global infrastructure as SVP of Technology. He went on to deliver enterprise-wide automation programmes across Belgium and the GCC, before becoming the co-founder at Numi. 

"Money management built on AI only works if people can trust it completely," said Usman Azim, CTO and co-founder of Numi. "After 14 years inside Citi's global infrastructure, I've seen what it actually takes to move money safely at scale – the controls, the audit trails, the things that never make it into a product demo but matter the moment something goes wrong. “We built that rigour into Numi from day one, not as an afterthought. Every action our agents take is explainable, reversible, and accountable — because handing someone control over your financial life has to be earned, not assumed." 

The company’s mission is to help people become financially independent, not just those who can afford a private wealth manager.

Press release:

Foodics, the leading restaurant operations and financial management platform in the MENA region, announced the completion of its full acquisition of Norma AI, a Greece-based artificial intelligence company built for the hospitality and restaurant industry. The Norma team has joined Foodics' AI division, and Norma’s Analytics Agent and BI application have been fully integrated into the Foodics platform. 

Founded by George Henein and Anastasios Anastasiadis, Norma was built to bridge the gap between hospitality operators and data, making advanced analytics radically simple, actionable, and accessible for business users without technical expertise. In 2024, Norma launched the first natural language querying BI application in the hospitality industry, allowing any business user to ask questions in plain language, receive instant answers, and build custom dashboards in seconds. Norma raised funding from strategic investors, and joined Foodics’ solutions marketplace before the two companies moved toward full integration.

With this phase finalised, Foodics has completed the 100% acquisition of Norma, building on the initial partial stake acquired in Q1 2025. Norma's technology, which was successfully integrated into the Foodics platform following that initial investment, has since been adopted by more than 10,000 Foodics customer branches. With the acquisition now complete, Norma's team joins Foodics' dedicated AI division focused on building the next generation of Agentic AI for restaurant operations, giving operators intelligent, real-time decision-making capabilities at a scale the industry has not seen before.

Ahmad AlZaini, Co-founder and CEO of Foodics, said: "As the industry grew more complex, so did the data – and turning that data into fast, confident decisions became one of the biggest challenges operators face. Successful restaurants will be the ones who close that gap, utilising intelligence in every layer of their operations. Our acquisition of Norma accelerates our agentic AI development roadmap and product releases, and strengthens our value proposition. For our operators, that translates directly into greater efficiency, smarter decision-making, and healthier profit margins.”

George Henein, Norma’s Co-founder, said: “Norma was built in Greece by a team of exceptional engineers and AI specialists with a focus on solving practical problems through technology. Our goal was to help restaurants make better decisions by making data more accessible and easier to use with an intuitive experience.

By joining forces with Foodics, we gain the scale, resources, and reach to accelerate the adoption of what we're building. Combining Foodics’ market leadership with Norma’s expertise in AI and analytics creates a strong foundation for the next generation of hospitality technology.”

The acquisition accelerates Foodics' evolution into an AI-native platform and reinforces its regional leadership. With over 40,000 branches on the Foodics platform and growing market presence across the GCC and North Africa, the integration of Norma's agentic capabilities represents one of the most significant deployments of AI in the global hospitality sector.

Press release:

Agenz, a Moroccan proptech startup specialising in real estate data and transactions, has raised an oversubscribed $5 million Seed funding round led by BREEGA, Attijariwafa Ventures, and Saviu Ventures.

The company plans to use the new funding to accelerate its expansion beyond property data and transaction services and into the financial infrastructure layer of real estate.

Founded by Malik Belkeziz and Badr Belkeziz and later joined by Wassila Berrada and Ayyoub Mouadden, Agenz is building technology solutions aimed at improving transparency and efficiency across the real estate ecosystem.

The company said it selected investors with deep operational expertise and experience in helping ambitious companies scale, as it enters its next phase of growth.

Agenz remains focused on its long-term mission of building the operating system for the next generation of real estate, creating a market that is more transparent, efficient, and accessible for all stakeholders.