🗞️ Weekly round-up

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🗞️ Weekly round-up🗞️ Weekly round-up
AI agents, $120M early-stage funds, and more chips

AI agents, $120M early-stage funds, and more chips

Expensya founders return with Thunder Code, raise $9M to automate software testing with AI, Khwarizmi Ventures eyes $100M+ Fund II to back early-stage startups, plus this week’s MENA startup, VC, and tech news round-up.

Jamie Lane, +1
🗞️ Weekly round-up🗞️ Weekly round-up
Saudi SPACs, $10B AI Funds, and Musk meddles

Saudi SPACs, $10B AI Funds, and Musk meddles

HUMAIN to launch $10B VC fund for global AI startups, Elon Musk tried and failed to blow up Stargate UAE, what you need to know about Saudi SPACs, plus this week’s MENA startup, VC, and tech news round-up.

Jamie Lane, +1
🗞️ Weekly round-up🗞️ Weekly round-up
Egyptian startup funding is surging

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 week’s MENA startup, VC, and tech news round-up.

Jamie Lane, +1
🗞️ Weekly round-up🗞️ Weekly round-up
Saudi’s AI ambition goes full-stack

Saudi’s AI ambition goes full-stack

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

Jamie Lane, +1
🗞️ Weekly round-up🗞️ Weekly round-up
AI, autonomy, and MENA cybersecurity

AI, autonomy, and MENA cybersecurity

A rare MENA cybersecurity startup exit, Money Fellows raises $13M pre-Series C, and Nama Ventures becomes first foreign VC licensed by Saudi CMA, plus this week’s MENA startup, VC, and tech news round-up.

Jamie Lane, +1
🗞️ Weekly round-up🗞️ Weekly round-up
Saudi’s IPO pipeline and $100M venture debt push

Saudi’s IPO pipeline and $100M venture debt push

STV launches $100 million venture debt fund, iMENA raises $135M in pre-IPO round, and Travis Kalanick’s CloudKitchens eyes IPO for Middle East unit, plus this week’s MENA startup, VC, and tech news round-up.

Jamie Lane, +1
🗞️ Weekly round-up🗞️ Weekly round-up
Egypt’s $105M fintech fund pivots

Egypt’s $105M fintech fund pivots

Seesaw acquires Jordan’s Little Thinking Minds to deepen Arabic edtech push across MENA, BKN301 raises $23.8M to target UAE & Saudi expansion, Careem launches grocery delivery in Riyadh, plus this week’s MENA startup, VC, and tech news round-up.

Jamie Lane, +1
🗞️ Weekly round-up🗞️ Weekly round-up
The battle for Saudi quick commerce

The battle for Saudi quick commerce

Inside Rabbit’s Saudi expansion with CEO Ahmad Yousry, Saudi’s Sary and Bangladesh’s ShopUp merge to launch SILQ, a B2B commerce platform, with $110M in fresh funding, plus this week’s MENA startup, VC, and tech news round-up.

Jamie Lane, +1
🗞️ Weekly round-up🗞️ Weekly round-up
Egypt's semiconductor renaissance

Egypt's semiconductor renaissance

InfiniLink raises $10M seed round to build next-gen optical connectivity chips for AI data centres, Fuse raises $6.6M to bring virtual IBANs to MENA, PayLater becomes first BNPL firm licensed by Qatar Central Bank, plus this week’s MENA startup, VC, and tech news round-up.

Jamie Lane, +1
🗞️ Weekly round-up🗞️ Weekly round-up
Preventing illness with AI

Preventing illness with AI

UAE-based reverse logistics platform Cartlow acquired by Basatne, Warner Bros. invests $57 million in OSN+ for minority stake, UAE Central Bank unveils new dirham symbol, plus this week’s MENA startup, VC, and tech news round-up.

Jamie Lane, +1
🗞️ Weekly round-up🗞️ Weekly round-up
Gulf funds are betting on biotech

Gulf funds are betting on biotech

ClearGrid emerges from stealth with $10M to modernise debt collection, QED leads NymCard $33m Series B round, Yango Group launches $20m VC fund, plus this week’s MENA startup, VC, and tech news round-up.

Jamie Lane, +1
🗞️ Weekly round-up🗞️ Weekly round-up
A 10x return for Saudi VC

A 10x return for Saudi VC

Lean banks Series B extension funding, Aramco Ventures doubles down on direct air capture, travel-tech Lokalee acquired for $12.8 million plus this week’s MENA startup, VC, and tech news round-up.

Jamie Lane, +1