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๐Ÿ—ž๏ธ Weekly round-up๐Ÿ—ž๏ธ Weekly round-up
Egyptian startup funding is surging
8 hours ago

Egyptian startup funding is surging

G42 partners with OpenAI, Nvidia & Cisco to launch Stargate UAE, Tarjama raises $15 million Series A funding to scale Arabic AI, QIA-backed unicorn Builder.ai files for insolvency, plus this weekโ€™s MENA startup, VC, and tech news round-up.

Jamie Lane, +1
๐Ÿ“ฐ News๐Ÿ“ฐ News
G42 partners with OpenAI, Nvidia & Cisco to launch Stargate UAE, a 1GW AI megaproject
9 hours ago

G42 partners with OpenAI, Nvidia & Cisco to launch Stargate UAE, a 1GW AI megaproject

Stargate UAE builds on the $500 billion Stargate project first unveiled in January and marks the latest in a flurry of high-profile G42 partnerships.

Jamie Lane
๐Ÿ“ฐ News๐Ÿ“ฐ News
QIA-backed unicorn Builder.ai files for insolvency despite $450M in funding
9 hours ago

QIA-backed unicorn Builder.ai files for insolvency despite $450M in funding

Once hailed as a billion-dollar AI unicorn, UK-based Builder.ai has filed for bankruptcy after investors seized $37M from its accounts, leaving just $5M in cash.

Jamie Lane
๐Ÿ“ฐ News๐Ÿ“ฐ News
Why are we suddenly seeing a surge in funding for Egyptian startups?
9 hours ago

Why are we suddenly seeing a surge in funding for Egyptian startups?

As of mid-May, Egyptian startups have raised $124 million across at least six major deals, a 406% YoY surge and a staggering 8,000% MoM increase.

Jamie Lane
๐ŸŽ™๏ธ Interview๐ŸŽ™๏ธ Interview
+1+1
Building the AI voice for global storytelling
May 21, 2025

Building the AI voice for global storytelling

Why localisation is the hardest problem in GenAI, how to build foundational AI in an ecosystem still playing catch-up, and why Dubai doesnโ€™t need more capital, it needs more conviction.

Jamie Lane, +1
๐Ÿ“ฐ News๐Ÿ“ฐ News
UAE-based Tarjama raises $15 million in Series A funding to scale Arabic AI for enterprise in MENA
May 21, 2025

UAE-based Tarjama raises $15 million in Series A funding to scale Arabic AI for enterprise in MENA

Founded by Nour Al Hassan in 2008, Tarjama has evolved from a translation company into an AI-first enterprise, focused on solving Arabic language business problems at scale.

Jamie Lane
๐ŸŽง Podcast๐ŸŽง Podcast
VC React Podcast (Episode #35)
May 19, 2025

VC React Podcast (Episode #35)

We unpack the flood of AI announcements coming out of Saudi, from the launch of HUMAIN and multi-billion-dollar chip deals with NVIDIA, to new AI focused venture funds from Wyld VC and STV.

Jamie Lane
๐Ÿ—ž๏ธ Weekly round-up๐Ÿ—ž๏ธ Weekly round-up
Saudiโ€™s AI ambition goes full-stack
May 16, 2025

Saudiโ€™s AI ambition goes full-stack

STV launches $100M AI fund backed by Google, Egyptโ€™s proptech Nawy secures $75M to scale, and nsave opens access to secure financial accounts for Syrians, plus this weekโ€™s MENA startup, VC, and tech news round-up.

Jamie Lane, +1
๐Ÿ“ฐ News๐Ÿ“ฐ News
WakeCap raises $28M Series A to expand AI-powered construction intelligence platform globally
May 15, 2025

WakeCap raises $28M Series A to expand AI-powered construction intelligence platform globally

Founded in 2017 by Dr. Hassan Albalawi, WakeCap has developed an IoT and AI-powered project controls platform that delivers visibility into workforce activity, safety, productivity, and site progress across large-scale infrastructure and development projects.

Jamie Lane
๐Ÿ“ฐ News๐Ÿ“ฐ News
YC-backed, London-based nsave opens access to secure financial accounts for Syrian users following sanctions lift
May 15, 2025

YC-backed, London-based nsave opens access to secure financial accounts for Syrian users following sanctions lift

Co-founder and CEO Amer Baroudi called it โ€œthe moment I started nsave for,โ€ as the company begins onboarding Syrians via a new waitlist โ€“ offering early access to the first 10,000 signups.

Jamie Lane
๐Ÿ“ฐ News๐Ÿ“ฐ News
Tala Al-Jabri launches MENAโ€™s first AI-native VC fund, Wyld VC, with $50M to back early-stage AI talent across the region
May 15, 2025

Tala Al-Jabri launches MENAโ€™s first AI-native VC fund, Wyld VC, with $50M to back early-stage AI talent across the region

Backed by the family office of Lawrence E. Golub, the fund will invest in AI middleware and application-layer tools rather than foundation models, with a focus on early-stage startups.

Jamie Lane
๐Ÿ“ฐ News๐Ÿ“ฐ News
Egyptโ€™s Nawy secures $75M in equity and debt to scale its full-stack proptech platform across MENA
May 15, 2025

Egyptโ€™s Nawy secures $75M in equity and debt to scale its full-stack proptech platform across MENA

Founded in 2019 by Mohamed Abou Ghanima, Abdel-Azim Osman, Ahmed Rafea, Aly Rafea, and Mostafa El Beltagy, Nawy has evolved from a listings platform into a vertically integrated real estate ecosystem.

Jamie Lane
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