Happy Friday, friends 👋 

One of my early Covid reads came hurtling back to me this week for no particular reason: Kai-Fu Lee’s AI Superpowers: China, Silicon Valley, and the New World Order.

The AI arms race Lee predicted between the US and China took longer than expected to ignite, but many of his arguments now seem eerily prescient.

However, one of his central claims – that training deep learning models relies more on brute force than true innovation, favouring China’s supposed higher-quantity, lower-quality software engineers over the US – has played out quite differently. The race is far from over, but the hare now has the company of a snake that’s finally catapulted out of the starting blocks.

🎙️ If you missed our deep dive with Arable’s CEO, Laurence Ong, on Saudi Arabia’s food security and the future of hydroponics, check it out here.

P.S. We’ll be at the Sharjah Entrepreneurial Festival this weekend, delivering a keynote on The State of the MENA Startup Ecosystem. If you’re attending, drop us a message!

Now, without further ado, enjoy this week’s edition 👇

This week’s round-up is a 5 min read:

• 🧬 UAE biotech BioSapien extends pre-Series A to $7M for chemo delivery platform

• 💰 Saudi startup Lendo secures $690M facility from J.P. Morgan

• 🏦 STC Bank secures approval to operate as a digital bank in Saudi Arabia

• 🔈 Catch-up on Episode 22 of the VC React Podcast

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🚀 Startup funding round-up

Maalexi (🇦🇪 UAE), an agri-focused fintech, has secured a $3 million debt finance facility from Citi. Maalexi enhances cross-border agri-trade through its AI-powered risk management platform.

Silkhaus (🇦🇪 UAE), a proptech specialising in short-term rentals, has closed a seven-figure growth round led by Nuwa Capital and Oraseya Capital, with participation from Impulse International, Yuj Ventures, Nordstar, and other family offices. This follows a multi-million-dollar pre-Series A from Partners for Growth.

Fincart.io (🇪🇬 Egypt), a logistics platform offering streamlined delivery solutions for e-commerce SMBs, has raised an undisclosed pre-Seed round led by Plus VC, with participation from Plug and Play, Orbit Startups, Jedar Capital, and other regional investors.

ChatBerry (🇸🇦 KSA), a SaaS platform in MENA’s conversational commerce market, has raised a $267K pre-Seed round led by Iwan Ventures to enhance its AI-driven, compliance-first WhatsApp marketing and automation tools.

Nabeeh (🇸🇦 KSA), an e-services platform, has raised an undisclosed investment from Ibtikar Fund. Nabeeh provides an online platform for booking housekeeping, cleaning, maintenance, repairs, and renovation services.

UpLevel (🇸🇦 KSA), an edtech startup connecting companies with professional coaches for employee training, has raised an undisclosed pre-Seed round from a group of angel investors.

Foz (🇸🇦 KSA), a digital coupon-based marketing platform for businesses, has raised a $530K pre-Seed round.

EasyBank (🇹🇳 Tunisia), a fintech startup offering digital banking solutions for the underbanked and diaspora, has secured a $390K investment from an international investor to support expansion into France and the MENA region.

Biotech

🧬 UAE biotech startup BioSapien extends pre-Series A to $7M for chemo delivery platform

🧬 UAE-based biotech startup BioSapien has extended its pre-Series A round to $7 million, with new investment from Golden Gate Ventures’ MENA Fund — marking the fund’s first investment in the region.

• The extension follows BioSapien’s initial $5.5 million raise in December, led by Global Ventures, with participation from Dara Holdings.

⏮️ Background

Founded in 2018 by Khatija Ali, BioSapien has developed MediChip, a 3D-printed drug delivery platform designed as an alternative way to deliver chemotherapy. The treatment involves a minimally invasive procedure where a patch is placed directly on the tumour, releasing chemotherapy on-site with minimal side effects.

Unlike traditional chemotherapy, which requires patients to remain in a hospital setting, MediChip allows them to continue their daily activities—driving, working, or sleeping—while still receiving treatment. It also significantly reduces common chemotherapy side effects, including hair loss.

Initially focused on colorectal cancer, BioSapien plans to expand its technology to other cancers, including pancreatic and lung cancer, as well as non-cancer applications such as opioids, hormones, and biologics.

The company joined Hub71 in 2023 to accelerate clinical trials, as Abu Dhabi offers a faster regulatory pathway compared to the US. In the current US funding landscape, securing investment for biotech startups is particularly challenging unless they focus on AI, computational biology, or gene therapy.

🔮 Flashforward

BioSapien plans to use the fresh funds to accelerate clinical trials in the UAE, set to begin in Q2 2025, while also advancing product development and scaling manufacturing capabilities.

Premium deep-dive

Growing vegetables in the Saudi desert ↗

We dig into Saudi Arabia’s food security issue through the lens of Lawrence Ong, CEO and co-founder of the hydroponics startup Arable, which recently announced a $2.55 million Seed round, to localise vegetable production in the desert.

 💸 Fintech

💰 Saudi Arabia-based fintech Lendo has secured a $690 million warehouse facility led by J.P. Morgan to expand its lending capacity, develop new products, and increase SME coverage in the Kingdom. Founded in 2019 by Osama Alraee and Mohamed Jawabri, Lendo operates a crowdlending marketplace connecting businesses seeking financing with investors looking for short-term returns. In late 2023, the company closed its $28 million Series B round, led by Sanabil Investments, with participation from Shorooq Partners, AB Ventures, and others. To date, Lendo claims to have facilitated over $667 million in financing across 5,000+ transactions, generating $33.3 million in investor returns.

🏦 STC Bank, the digital lender backed by STC, has received SAMA approval and will soon launch operations. Owned 64% by the Public Investment Fund (PIF), STC saw its share price reach a three-month high following the announcement.

• STC previously launched STC Pay in 2018, growing into a leading Gulf fintech with 27 million mobile subscribers.

• The company reported record revenue of SAR 28 billion ($7.5 billion) in the first nine months of 2024.

The bank joins D360 Bank and Vision Bank as the latest digital lenders to secure SAMA approval.

🌍 Global investments

💳 Fintech startup nsave has secured $18 million in Series A funding to enhance access to US equities, ETFs, and funds through its platform. The round was led by TQ Ventures, with participation from Sequoia Capital, Y Combinator, ACE Ventures, and Proton Foundation. nsave aims to provide compliant overseas accounts for individuals in high-inflation countries, helping them protect and grow their wealth. Co-founded in 2022 by Amer Baroudi and Abdallah AbuHashem, the startup was born from lived experiences — Baroudi saw his family lose their savings due to currency devaluation and banking restrictions after fleeing war in Syria. nsave seeks to democratise offshore financial services for young professionals and others facing economic instability.

🇫🇷 Alice & Bob, a Paris-based quantum computing firm, has secured $104 million in Series B funding, led by Qatar Investment Authority (QIA) and Bpifrance. This funding will advance its cat qubit technology, aimed at accelerating the development of fault-tolerant quantum computing. Cat qubits simplify the hardware needed for quantum computing, reducing the required number of qubits from millions to thousands, making scalable quantum computing more feasible.

📚🇰🇿 Kazakh edtech startup CodiPlay has secured $9 million in a Series A funding round, valuing the company at $100 million. The round saw participation from Global Capital, along with prominent investors from Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Qatar, and angel investor Cristian Eichner of Qatar National Bank. This investment supports CodiPlay's mission to equip schools with digital skills in robotics, IoT, and AI, fuelling its expansion across the MENA region.

 🤝 Acquisitions

🇪🇬 Dsquares, an Egypt-based loyalty and rewards solutions provider, has acquired a majority stake in Prepit, a B2B SaaS platform specialising in AI-driven technology for the F&B sector. Founded by Ayman Essawy, Marwan Kenawy, and Momtaz Moussa, Dsquares delivers customized loyalty solutions across industries. This acquisition bolsters its AI capabilities and expands its reach in key Middle Eastern markets, including KSA, Egypt, and the UAE. Prepit, founded in 2022 by Karim Hussein and Tarek Afia, enhances Dsquares' position in the region’s growing digital loyalty ecosystem.

🧠 Treatment.com AI Inc. (CSE: TRUE) is acquiring UAE-based and Antler VC backed Alea Health, adding AI-powered voice triaging and mental health services to its platform. This move expands Treatment.com AI’s reach into the Middle East’s $135 billion AI-driven healthcare market. Alea’s platform, with 35+ licensed therapists, offers AI-assisted therapy, patient intake, and a 24/7 mental health coach. The deal includes $315,000 in cash and $100,000 in shares, pending customary approvals. Alea Health was founded by Richard Dallala, Marco Bertetti and Saleh Paracha in 2024.

🤖 AI

🇸🇦 The Saudi Data and Artificial Intelligence Authority (SDAIA) has launched an accreditation program for AI service providers, assessing their maturity and adherence to ethical AI principles via the National Data Governance Platform. Companies are ranked as Conscious, Adoptive, Committed, Reliable, or Pioneer, with certification valid for one year. The initiative aims to enhance AI reliability, encourage responsible AI use, and improve service quality in the kingdom. This follows Dubai’s AI Seal launch, reflecting a broader regional push for AI governance

🗓️ Opportunities

📢 Applications are now open for Misk Accelerator (Cohort 11) 🇸🇦 This three-month program is designed to help launch and accelerate the growth of your tech startup. The top-performing startups will receive guaranteed investment from Plug and Play Tech Center. Apply now!

💰 VC React Podcast: Episode 22

🎧 In this week's episode of the VC React Podcast, we had the opportunity to sink our teeth into some of the MENA startup ecosystem’s most promising and popular sectors for funding, through the lens of four recent funding rounds in proptech, fintech, agritech, and AI.

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