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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
- HUMAIN signed a deal with xAI to build hyperscale GPU data centers in Saudi Arabia and deploy Grok models as a national AI layer.
- Rasan received SAMA’s initial approval to launch Next Fin Solutions, expanding into digital finance brokerage under Vision 2030.
- Thunes partnered with First Abu Dhabi Bank to power real-time cross-border and wallet payments from the UAE to over 130 countries.
- NeoCity and AQAR formed a strategic partnership to accelerate Saudi proptech startups and advance smart city and real estate innovation.
- Parachute16 and YOUMNA formed a partnership to help MENA founders scale faster by combining market access with executive delegation support.
💸 Top Funding Rounds
- Ghanem secured $7.1 million from Al-Romaih Group to scale its fractional real estate platform and advance Vision 2030 plans.
- Secure.com obtained $4.5 million from Disrupt.com to expand its AI security agents for automated alert triage and compliance.
- Kingpin raised $3.5 million led by Infinity Ventures to grow its AI-native B2B distribution platform and expand globally.
- Nabta Health secured $2 million in a pre-Series A funding, lifting total funding to $4.5 million to scale its AI-hybrid women’s health platform.
- Takadao closed a $1.5 million seed round and launched the LifeCard to grow its community-owned Web3 financial ecosystem.
💰️ Notable Exits
- Qewam Holding acquired Iwan Ventures and relaunched it as Q Fund, a $13 million Riyadh-based investment arm led by CEO Lewa Abukhait to back AI-driven tech startups aligned with Vision 2030.
🏦 About Investors
- Inovia Capital opened an office in Abu Dhabi’s ADGM to deepen tech ties between Canada and the Middle East, with Claire Glossop Irani leading efforts to connect its $2.5 billion software portfolio to GCC capital and markets.
- Riyadh-based RAÝH Innovations launched as a corporate venture builder using a rapid evidence based process to turn underused institutional assets into spin-out startups aligned with Saudi Vision 2030.
🚀Startup of the Week
Introducing our Startup of the Week 🏆
Ghanem
Saudi Arabian proptech startup Ghanem is rethinking how people invest in property across the Kingdom. Founded in 2025 by Saleh Al-Ghamdi and Amr Essam, the company runs a regulated digital platform that lets individual and institutional investors buy fractional stakes in real estate assets, lowering the steep entry barriers of traditional ownership. Ghanem recently secureda $7.1 million strategic investment from Al-Romaih Group, giving CEO and co-founder Al-Ghamdi fresh firepower to expand products, upgrade its technology stack, and deepen market reach under the Real Estate General Authority’s Regulatory Sandbox. At its core, Ghanem aims to democratize real estate investment and support Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 transformation.
💼 Investor of the Week
Introducing our Investor of the Week 🏆
Inovia Capital
Inovia Capital is a full-stack venture capital firm founded in 2007 in Montreal, backing software companies from pre-seed to pre-IPO across sectors such as fintech, digital health, commerce, future of work, and cybersecurity. Managing more than $2.5 billion and a portfolio of around 75 companies including Hopper, Neo4j, Wealthsimple, and Lightspeed, Inovia combines capital with deep operator experience to help founders scale globally. Led by partner and CEO Chris Arsenault, the firm recently expanded its footprint with a new office in Abu Dhabi’s ADGM, headed by Claire Glossop Irani, to strengthen Canada–Middle East tech ties. Its mission is to turn globally ambitious founders into enduring category leaders.
🤑Opportunity Radar
Call for Applications: The HAX Program
The HAX Program, run by SOSV, is a global accelerator for hard-tech startups building solutions in hardware, climate tech, health tech, industrial tech, energy, and AI. Founders gain access to investment, hands-on engineering resources, a world-class mentor network, and long-term venture support through SOSV’s multi-stage platform. The program targets pre-seed hard-tech teams with early prototypes and strong customer insight. Apply now to join a globally diverse community and accelerate your path from prototype to scale.
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