Jamie Lane

Jamie Lane is the co-founder of FWDstart, a Gulf/MENA-focused tech and venture publication aiming to be the region’s referential source for rigorous analysis and original reporting. Based in Abu Dhabi, Jamie’s coverage spans AI, fintech, and the evolving capital stack in MENA. He also hosts the VC React podcast. Before FWDstart, he led digital strategy at a pan-European B2B publishing house, overseeing editorial, subscriptions, and commercial operations.

GCC Food Security, India’s Venture Depth & Agritech Investing

Mark Kahn, Co-Founder and Managing Partner of Omnivore, India’s leading agritech and climate-tech venture capital firm with more than $300M AUM, joins the podcast.

Dec 8, 2025

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1 min read

CoinMENA acquired by Paribu in up to $240M deal, marking Türkiye’s largest fintech transaction

The Turkish crypto giant gains VARA and Bahrain licenses through its purchase of CoinMENA, expanding regulated operations into the MENA region as consolidation accelerates across digital asset markets.

Dec 5, 2025

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3 min read

Lebanese founder’s Kalshi hits $11B valuation, Tabby revenue jumps in Q3

Saudi cybersecurity startup raises $9.2M Series A, Plus VC to fund 30+ startups and double deployment to $10M in 2026, plus this week’s MENA startup, VC, and tech news round-up.

Dec 5, 2025

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13 min read

UAE renovation-tech startup Reno raises $4M to expand its end-to-end home upgrade platform across the GCC

Backed by Sanabil 500, Hub71 and Plus VC, Reno will use the new capital to scale its renovation operating system, launch an AI-powered design app and grow its footprint across Gulf markets.

Dec 5, 2025

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2 min read

Lebanese founder Tarek Mansour’s Kalshi raises $1B at an $11B valuation as prediction markets go mainstream

The latest round was led by Paradigm, with participation from Sequoia Capital, Andreessen Horowitz, CapitalG and several returning investors.

Dec 4, 2025

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3 min read

Zazu raises $1M pre-seed to build a Mercury-style financial operating system for African SMEs

Zazu is targeting what economists call Africa’s “missing middle”: the continent’s 50 million SMEs that sit between micro-entrepreneurs served by mobile money and large enterprises supported by commercial banks.

Dec 4, 2025

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3 min read

GlobalFoundries acquires Egypt’s InfiniLink months after its $10M seed round

The Cairo chip startup gives GlobalFoundries new silicon photonics design depth as AI data centres shift from copper to optical interconnects.

Dec 3, 2025

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3 min read

Egypt’s Rology raises growth round from Philips Foundation, J&J, Sanofi and MIT Solve to scale AI-enabled teleradiology

The Cairo startup, which acquired Saudi Arabia’s Arkan United last year, will use the funding to expand access to rapid, AI-driven radiology across MEA and strengthen its position in Saudi Arabia.

Dec 3, 2025

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2 min read

Saudi cybersecurity startup COGNNA raises $9.2M Series A to scale AI-led security operations

Impact46 doubles-down as COGNNA pushes into global markets with its agentic SOC platform, promising faster threat detection and lower security operations costs.

Dec 3, 2025

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3 min read

Founders Fund in KSA, Saudi real estate opens up

erad secures $125M facility to scale SME finance across the GCC, Propeller launches $50M Fund III, Egypt's chip startup Infinlink acquired by global giant, plus this week’s MENA startup, VC, and tech news round-up.

Nov 28, 2025

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16 min read

Saudi-based Erad secures $125M facility from Jefferies and Channel to scale embedded SME finance across the GCC

The capital will expand erad’s embedded finance solutions into new B2B verticals including manufacturing, logistics, distribution and real estate services, with financing ticket sizes of up to SAR 10 million.

Nov 27, 2025

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3 min read

The MENA Tech IPO Tracker

Here's our list of likely prospects, target exchanges, the last known valuations, the appointed banks, and the key quotes from leadership. We'll update it regularly, tracking companies' plans and progress.

Nov 26, 2025

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6 min read

Propeller launches $50M Fund III to back AI infrastructure and AI-native software across US and MENA

Founded in 2017 by Zaid Farekh and Tambi Jalouqa, Propeller operates across Amman, Riyadh, Boston, and Silicon Valley, positioning itself as a bridge between MENA AI builders and US growth markets.

Nov 26, 2025

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2 min read

Buildroid AI emerges from stealth with $2M pre-Seed led by Tim Draper to deploy AI robotics in UAE construction

The startup, founded by the builders behind Mighty Buildings and Glance Clock, is piloting its first block-laying robot and targeting the UAE’s $42.75 billion construction market.

Nov 25, 2025

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2 min read

Strataphy raises $6M Seed to develop geothermal cooling systems for data centres and industrial infrastructure

Outliers VC leads investment to scale subsurface-powered cooling technology across Saudi Arabia and the UAE.

Nov 25, 2025

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2 min read

Founders Fund leads $11.7M Series A in Mnzil, marking its first lead investment in Saudi Arabia

The US firm, known for backing SpaceX, Airbnb and OpenAI, will support Mnzil’s expansion of workforce housing solutions across the GCC.

Nov 25, 2025

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2 min read

Elon Musk and HUMAIN team-up

Musk announces 500MW xAI data centre in Saudi, Middle East Series A valuations outpace other EMs, HUMAIN leads Luma AI’s $900M Series C, plus this week’s MENA startup, VC, and tech news round-up.

Nov 21, 2025

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12 min read

Kingpin raises $3.5M Seed to scale AI-native B2B retail platform globally

The UAE-based startup will expand from the Middle East into Europe and North America as it builds AI-powered infrastructure for global distribution.

Nov 21, 2025

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2 min read

HUMAIN partners with Adobe to develop Arabic-first generative AI on Saudi-built hyperscale infrastructure

Collaboration spans infrastructure, models and creative tools. Adobe to become first customer of HUMAIN’s AI data centres, with support from Qualcomm.

Nov 20, 2025

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2 min read

HUMAIN leads Luma AI’s $900M Series C to train multimodal AGI using 2GW Saudi supercluster

Funding led by HUMAIN will accelerate development of frontier “World Models” as Luma positions to scale real-world AI across robotics, enterprise, entertainment, and regional customisation.

Nov 20, 2025

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2 min read

Elon Musk announces 500MW xAI data centre in Saudi Arabia in partnership with HUMAIN

Project launched during Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s US visit. Built in partnership with Saudi sovereign-backed HUMAIN AI and powered by Nvidia chips.

Nov 20, 2025

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2 min read

How to build a winning startup culture

Companies invest a great deal of energy in presenting a particular idea of their culture. The real version is simpler and harder to fabricate: it’s whatever people actually do when something goes wrong and there is no immediate reward for doing the right thing.

Nov 19, 2025

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9 min read

Saudi fractional real estate platform Ghanem raises $7.1M from Al-Romaih Group

The newly launched startup aims to expand access to property investment through a regulated fractional ownership model.

Nov 19, 2025

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2 min read

Nabta Health raises $2M pre-Series A to scale AI-powered women’s health platform

The UAE-based startup brings total funding to USD 4.5 million as it accelerates a hybrid care model spanning digital, at-home and in-clinic services across MEA.

Nov 19, 2025

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2 min read

How to preserve and evolve your culture as you scale

Culture is easiest to shape when the team is small. As you grow, alignment becomes harder and drift inevitable unless you actively manage it. The founder’s job is not to preserve the past but to guide how culture evolves.

Nov 19, 2025

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10 min read