News
Startups
+3
Aug 4, 2026
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1 min read
Saudi's Rime raises $2M+ seed to run AI agents on-site for retail chains
Seedra Ventures led again after backing the pre-Seed, in a round joined by Athlah Investment and Unity Invest Partners, behind a platform that runs decisions on-site through edge computing rather than sending footage to remote data centres.
Jordan
+2
Jul 31, 2026
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2 min read
Brookfield to buy Aypa Power for $7B, the battery storage platform built by Jordan's Moe Hajabed
The Amman-raised founder started the business in Canada as a behind-the-meter storage developer, sold it to Blackstone in 2020 when it had around 200 MWh contracted, and has grown it into North America's largest standalone battery platform at 6.5 GW, with a pipeline above 20 GW.
Fintech
+2
Jul 31, 2026
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2 min read
UAE credit reports to include Tabby and Tamara accounts from July
Al Etihad Credit Bureau will add BNPL data from both providers, covering existing and new customers and historical transactions.
News
+2
Jul 27, 2026
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1 min read
Egypt's Fincart raises $2.8M seed to take its e-commerce operations platform across MENA and Africa
The oversubscribed round is co-led by Launch Africa and Antler MENAP, backing a platform that connects merchants to more than 40 couriers and lends against their sales data.
News
+3
Jul 25, 2026
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1 min read
Notion acquires ZeroEntropy, the AI search startup co-founded by Moroccan CEO Ghita Houir Alami
The whole team joins Notion, with Houir Alami taking over its Model Research group, roughly a year after the YC-backed company raised a $4.2 million Seed.
Fintech
+4
Jul 17, 2026
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1 min read
Revolut wins in-principle approval from Dubai's VARA to offer crypto services in the UAE
The Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority approval covers broker-dealer, exchange, and management and investment services, and lands a month after Revolut completed its Central Bank licensing for payments, stacking a second regulatory pillar under a UAE launch that has yet to be given a date.
News
+3
Jul 16, 2026
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1 min read
Vercel acquires Stakpak, the Egyptian-born DevOps agent startup, as it builds out agentic infrastructure
The deal takes a team that bootstrapped out of Cairo for two years, built one of the most popular open-source DevOps agents, and raised a $500K pre-seed just last year into the $9.3 billion company behind Next.js and v0.
Fintech
+2
Jul 13, 2026
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2 min read
Tabby launches Tabby Cash, its first product on the UAE wallet licence, as it pushes beyond BNPL
The fee-free spending account, offering up to 3% cashback and free local transfers, and arrives alongside a rebrand positioning the $4.5 billion company as an everyday money management platform rather than a BNPL provider.
Startups
+3
Jul 10, 2026
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2 min read
Amazon brings 20-minute delivery to Egypt, opening a new front in the country's quick commerce race
Amazon Now has gone live in select areas of Cairo, Giza, Alexandria and the North Coast, making Egypt the third market in the region to get the service after the UAE and Saudi Arabia.
China
+4
Jul 10, 2026
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2 min read
Abu Dhabi's BlueFive co-leads $3B round for China's Kling AI, the largest raise ever for a video model company
The round values Kuaishou's spun-out video-generation unit at $18B ahead of a planned Hong Kong listing, and puts the Abu Dhabi asset manager alongside Tencent, CITIC Securities and CPE as the only Middle East-based name among the co-leads of a record Chinese AI financing.
Jordan
+4
Jul 10, 2026
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1 min read
Jordan's ISSF partners with STV to bring the Google-backed AI Fund to Jordanian founders
The tie-up marks ISSF's second fund partnership in a month after its $7 million commitment to Endeavor Catalyst V opened the Kingdom's second investment phase.
Funding
+3
Jul 10, 2026
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2 min read
Azraq raises oversubscribed pre-seed to price the risk behind the Gulf's data centre boom
The Abu Dhabi-based platform replaces the static, up-to-$1-million consultant reports underwriting data centre finance with continuous, lender-grade risk intelligence, and marks the first publicised graduate of the Utopia platform's co-build studio model.
Startups
+3
Jul 9, 2026
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1 min read
Keyper raises $11M Series A to expand monthly rent payments in the UAE
Led by Speedinvest with Mashreq's NeoVentures, Dubai Future District Fund, Property Finder and Arab National Bank participating, the platform has financed more than $44 million in rent since launch.
News
+2
Jul 3, 2026
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2 min read
OSN proposes taking Anghami private two years after buying control
The streaming group, which owns around 67% of the Nasdaq-listed Arab music platform, has offered $3.39 a share in cash for the rest, the stock's three-month volume-weighted average rather than a premium, and has told the board it will not sell its stake to a third party, effectively ruling out a rival bid.
Fintech
+3
Jun 30, 2026
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2 min read
Tabby secures consumer and SME finance licences from SAMA, opening up larger purchases and working capital
The two SAMA licences let Tabby offer Saudi customers longer instalment plans of up to SAR 50,000 on bigger-ticket purchases alongside its existing four-payment product, and extend working capital to the retailers on its platform.
Startups
+3
Jun 30, 2026
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3 min read
1001 raises $30M Series A led by Lux Capital to build sovereign AI for Gulf critical infrastructure
Eight months after its $9 million seed, 1001 has more than tripled its raise, backing its pitch to build AI that helps operators run critical infrastructure like airports, ports and energy grids.
Fintech
+2
Jun 26, 2026
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2 min read
Morocco's central bank puts Revolut entry on ice, says fintech's services already covered by local banks
Governor Abdellatif Jouahri said Bank Al-Maghrib is tied up with more urgent regulatory work and sees no pressing need for a new foreign player.
Fintech
+2
Jun 26, 2026
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2 min read
PayPal Ventures winds down, leaving its $100M Middle East and Africa pledge in limbo
Nine months after PayPal committed $100 million to startups across the Middle East and Africa, the corporate venture arm meant to deploy much of it has paused new investments.
Fintech
+2
Jun 25, 2026
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2 min read
Lean and Ziina launch one-tap Pay by Bank top-ups, the UAE's first recurring Open Finance payment experience
Built on Lean's Deposits product, the feature lets Ziina users link a bank account once and top up their wallet with a single tap, moving Pay by Bank in the UAE past one-off transactions and into the repeat, low-friction flows that drive daily use.
Healthtech
+2
Jun 25, 2026
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1 min read
BioSapien wins Abu Dhabi regulatory approvals to begin Phase I cancer trials for its MediChip platform
The Department of Health, the Emirates Drug Establishment and an institutional review board have cleared the 3D-printed chemotherapy implant for first-in-human trials, with patient enrolment in colorectal cancer expected to begin within weeks.
