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Welcome to another edition of 🔍 Startup Researcher - Middle East, your essential digest delivering the latest news and premium insights on startups and venture capital across the region 🌏️
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📰 Important News
- Saudi tech firm MIS secured a $501 million contract from HUMAIN to design and construct a private, AI-focused data center, underscoring Saudi Arabia's commitment to strengthening its digital infrastructure and advancing AI capabilities.
- The Chefz announced a strategic partnership with Platline, a company specializing in restaurant operations, to enhance the food delivery experience and improve operational efficiency through automation.
💸 Top Funding Rounds
- Dubai-based TruDoc Healthcare raised $15 million in a Pre-Series B round to expand its virtual-first at-home critical care platform across the GCC.
- Skipr secured $2 million in seed funding to scale its sovereign AI infrastructure for national and enterprise deployments.
- Ledgers landed $250,000 in angel funding to build an AI operating system for strategic decision-making and risk mitigation.
- Dubai-based crowdshipping startup Paquik received $85,000 in pre-seed funding to launch its cross-border delivery platform.
- Qatar-based healthtechiQtech closed its first investment round to develop its AI-powered XR medical training platform, EsculapioVR.
💰️ IPO and M&A Watch
- A 2PointZero Group subsidiary acquired an undisclosed stake in wearable healthtech platform Whoop, a subscription fitness tracker company that has raised over $400 million from investors such as SoftBank.
🏦 About Investors
- Investcorp closed its second GP staking fund and related vehicles at over $1.25 billion, including $1.1 billion in commitments and $155 million in co-investment capital.
🚀 Startup of the Week
Introducing our Startup of the Week 🏆
TruDoc
Founded in 2011 in Dubai by Raouf Khalil, TruDoc is emerging as one of the GCC’s most consequential healthtech players, stitching telemedicine, chronic disease management, diagnostics, pharmacy delivery, and in-home care into a single virtual-first platform. Now led by CEO Asad Khan, the company recently raised $15 million in a Pre-Series B round. The round was backed by the Al Nahyan and Al-Ketbi families alongside existing investor Pulsar Capital. Its next move is ambitious: expanding its hospital-at-home and broader home-based critical care footprint across the UAE and Saudi Arabia, reinforcing its mission to make continuous, accessible healthcare part of the region’s core infrastructure.
💼 Investor of the Week
Introducing our Investor of the Week 🏆
Investcorp Strategic Capital Group
Founded in 2019 within Investcorp, the Bahrain-rooted global alternative investment firm, Investcorp Strategic Capital Group has carved out a distinct position as a GP staking investor focused on high-growth middle-market private capital managers. Led by Managing Partner Anthony Maniscalco, with backing from Investcorp Executive Chairman Mohammed Alardhi, ISCG recently closed its second fund and related vehicles at over $1.25 billion, bringing total AUM above $2.4 billion. Its latest portfolio includes Monomoy Capital Partners, MML Capital, Banner Ridge Partners, and Vauban Infrastructure Partners. By pairing capital with hands-on support across fundraising, product development, AI, and operations, ISCG has become a strategic growth partner helping emerging GPs scale and endure.
🤑 Opportunities Expiring Soon
UNICEF Innovation Fund 2026 for Blockchain Solutions
- 📢 Organizer: UNICEF Venture Fund
- 🗂️ Category: Funding
- 🪜 Target Stages: Pre-seed, Seed
- 🏭 Focus Sectors: Web3 & Blockchain, Social & Governance, Finance & Insurance
- 📅 Application Deadline: March 10, 2026
IDRIS Open Hackathon 2026
- 📢 Organizer: NVIDIA
- 🗂️ Category: Hackathon, Event
- 🪜 Target Stages: Ideation
- 🏭 Focus Sectors: AI & Data, DeepTech
- 📅 Application Deadline: March 10, 2026
FoundersBoost 2026 SoCal B2B Accelerator
- 📢 Organizer: FoundersBoost
- 🗂️ Category: Accelerator, Training & Learning
- 🪜 Target Stages: Pre-seed, Seed
- 🏭 Focus Sectors: Sector Agnostic
- 📅 Application Deadline: March 11, 2026
WMF Startup Competition 2026
- 📢 Organizer: We Make Future (WMF)
- 🗂️ Category: Award/Prize, Funding, Competition/Challenge
- 🪜 Target Stages: Pre-seed, Seed
- 🏭 Focus Sectors: Sector Agnostic
- 📅 Application Deadline: March 12, 2026
FoundersBoost LA Pre-Accelerator
- 📢 Organizer: FoundersBoost
- 🗂️ Category: Accelerator, Training & Learning
- 🪜 Target Stages: Ideation, Pre-seed, Seed
- 🏭 Focus Sectors: Sector Agnostic
- 📅 Application Deadline: March 12, 2026
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