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.

Gaia raises $1.5M led by SEEDRA to build sovereign AI layer for Saudi enterprises

The Riyadh startup is building a permission-aware search, assistant and AI agent layer across companies’ internal systems, with data kept inside Saudi or deployed on-premise.

Sep 8, 2026

•

1 min read

Sav raises $3.5M pre-Series A led by Phoenix Venture Partners for Saudi expansion

The UAE consumer fintech has broadened from a savings app into a regulated personal-finance platform spanning cards, investments and account aggregation, taking total funding to about $6 million.

Sep 7, 2026

•

2 min read

HUMAIN starts IPO preparations 16 months after launch, with revenues still undisclosed

The Saudi AI company says its compute is selling before it is built, but an eventual public-market pitch will need to show who is paying for it and how much demand comes from outside the Kingdom’s state-backed ecosystem.

Sep 7, 2026

•

3 min read

PayTabs agrees $100M-plus deal for Amazon Payment Services’ MENA operations

The Saudi payments company will take over a business that began as PayFort before joining Amazon through its 2017 acquisition of Souq, creating a combined platform expected to process more than SAR 150 billion annually.

Sep 7, 2026

•

2 min read

How Quiqup Rebuilt From Dubai

After more than a decade building Quiqup, Bassel El Koussa opens up about raising $45M, surviving Uber’s arrival, rebuilding from Dubai, cutting revenue by 50% and what the next era of commerce could look like.

Sep 7, 2026

•

5 min read

HUMAIN's $10B VC fund could grow larger, Keeta turns profitable in Saudi

COFE closes $43M pre-IPO round targeting 2029 Saudi listing, Nvidia in early talks with Wa'ed-backed chip startup Rebellions, Adam Neumann's Flow enters the UAE, plus this week's MENA startup, VC, and tech news round-up.

Sep 4, 2026

•

9 min read

The AI announcements from LEAP 2026 worth knowing

LEAP closed in Riyadh yesterday after four days dominated by Saudi Arabia’s AI buildout, with HUMAIN responsible for a fairly extraordinary share of the announcements.

Sep 4, 2026

•

2 min read

Alaan gets in-principle UAE approval for SVF and payments licences as it pushes into business banking

Final approval would allow the fintech to hold customer funds, issue corporate cards and run cross-border payments under its own CBUAE licences as it expands beyond spend management into business banking.

Sep 4, 2026

•

1 min read

Keeta records first profitable month in Saudi Arabia after 22 months as delivery price war bites

Keeta took 29 months to reach the same milestone in Hong Kong, where it launched in May 2023.

Sep 4, 2026

•

6 min read

HUMAIN says planned $10B global VC fund could be larger, unveils separate Saudi-focused vehicle

The Saudi AI company will create HUMAIN Limitless, a separate initiative specifically focused on investing in and supporting AI companies within Saudi Arabia.

Sep 4, 2026

•

2 min read

Sirdab raises $10M Series A from Elm and BECO to expand Saudi logistics platform across GCC

The profitable Saudi logistics startup has grown revenue 20x since Y Combinator and now connects more than 850 businesses to a network of 120+ warehouses and 60+ transport providers.

Sep 3, 2026

•

1 min read

ZenHR raises $6M bridge round led by Impact46 to expand AI products and EWA

The Saudi HR software company is expanding its AI products and earned wage access offering across 11 markets in MENA, four years after raising a $10 million growth round.

Sep 3, 2026

•

2 min read

FlyAkeed raises $25.2M across Sanabil-led equity round and Artal sukuk

The Saudi corporate travel platform is adding a deferred-payment layer to its software, with the new financing split between equity and Shariah-compliant debt.

Sep 3, 2026

•

1 min read

Saudi SME lending startup Abwab.ai raises $4M led by Speedinvest and MEVP

The startup says its technology is used by more than 13 financial institutions and has processed over SAR 1 billion in SME loans.

Sep 3, 2026

•

2 min read

COFE closes $43M pre-IPO round at $178M valuation, targets Saudi listing by 2029

Wa’ed Ventures returns three years after leading its $15m Series B, as the Kuwait-born coffee-ordering app remakes itself into enterprise procurement and commerce software.

Sep 2, 2026

•

2 min read

Adam Neumann’s Flow enters UAE with DIFC licence, targets first openings in early 2027

a16z-backed residential operator plans communities in Dubai and Abu Dhabi as its portfolio grows to 8,500 homes under management or development.

Sep 2, 2026

•

2 min read

Usman Gul’s Metal raises $4.5M seed backed by a16z, YC and Phaze Ventures

Round follows an earlier investment from Oman’s Phaze Ventures, with the fundraising software startup saying paying customers have raised more than $500M through its platform this year.

Sep 2, 2026

•

1 min read

Dubai's Enhance raises $18.2M from Global Ventures and Stride Ventures to expand personal training OS in the US

Fitness software company, which bootstrapped before raising a $3m Series A in 2021, will use the equity and venture debt financing to expand across the world’s largest gym market.

Sep 2, 2026

•

2 min read

Jordanian edtech Abwaab acquires Egypt’s Eduact in second deal this year

Acquisition adds teacher and learning-centre software to Abwaab’s platform, eight months after it bought university admissions startup Apex.

Sep 1, 2026

•

1 min read

HUMAIN invests in Arabic.AI and Tarjama to expand Saudi enterprise AI offering

Undisclosed investment brings Nour Al Hassan’s Arabic language technology business into the PIF-backed AI group’s growing application stack.

Sep 1, 2026

•

1 min read

FWDstart’s first event: Infra Demo Night Dubai

Next Wednesday, 9 September, FWDstart is teaming up with Propeller and Antler for our first co-hosted event: Infra Demo Night Dubai at Dubai Founders HQ.

Aug 31, 2026

•

1 min read

Fasset joins the unicorn club, Builder.ai founder resurfaces in Dubai

Swvl secures $14.5M led by Sawiris-backed Coefficient as it targets US expansion, Talabat generated 94% of Delivery Hero's MENA profit, Ventures Platform closes $84M pan-African fund, plus this week's MENA startup, VC, and tech news round-up.

Aug 28, 2026

•

5 min read

Talabat generated 94% of Delivery Hero’s MENA profit as Saudi losses narrowed

Regional GMV rose 11.6% even as profit slipped, with Saudi Arabia appearing to move back towards breakeven ahead of Uber’s €13B takeover of the Berlin group.

Aug 28, 2026

•

5 min read

Builder.ai founder Sachin Dev Duggal launches Dubai-based SeKondBrain after unicorn collapse

New venture marks the return of the Builder.ai founder 15 months after the QIA-backed startup entered insolvency, with an initial product designed to carry memory between competing AI models

Aug 28, 2026

•

4 min read

Too small to hack? The cybersecurity threat facing UAE startups

A fake recruiter, a compromised laptop and a 574% surge in regional attacks. Inside Dynova's all-in-one approach to startup cybersecurity in the UAE.

Aug 26, 2026

•

19 min read