RIYADH: Startups in the Middle East and North Africa have raised new funding rounds over the past week, making acquisitions and partnerships across artificial intelligence, fintech, gaming and digital infrastructure.
Saudi Arabia-based Signit has raised $15 million in a Series A round led by Raed Ventures with participation from STV, Seedra Ventures, Takamol Ventures, and Suhail Ventures.
Founded in 2021 by Mohamed El-Abbouri, Signit provides digital signature and contract lifecycle management solutions for businesses and government agencies, positioning itself in the growing regional market for secure digital transactions and compliance tools.
The company said the funding will be used to enhance AI capabilities, automate contracting workflows and strengthen digital trust infrastructure as the adoption of paperless processes accelerates in both the public and private sectors.
Fascano completes $10 million investment round
Oman-based Fascano, in partnership with the country’s investment authority Future Fund Oman, has closed its third investment round for $10 million, with participation from Sayyid Kamel bin Fahd Al Said and Cipher Capital.
Founded in 2021 by Ahmed Al Karshi and Mulak Al Mueaki, the company develops operational and technology solutions for the hospitality and food and beverage industry, with a focus on improving efficiency and streamlining business processes.
The company said the funding will support continued product development and expansion of the solution across sectors.
Fascano operates in the regional food technology industry, which is increasingly focused on digitizing back-end operations such as supply chain management, inventory optimization and customer engagement tools.
In November 2024, the company closed its second round for an undisclosed amount led by Oman Future Fund in collaboration with Oman Investment Authority and Cyfr Capital, demonstrating continued investor interest in the company’s growth trajectory.
Speedinvest launches MEA-focused flagship fund
Austria-based venture capital firm Speedinvest has launched its first flagship fund dedicated to the Middle East and Africa, marking the formal expansion of its investment strategy in the region.
The fund is backed by institutional investors including Mubadala, Qatar Investment Authority and EIB Global.
The fund will target early and growth-stage startups across MENAPT and sub-Saharan Africa, with a focus on areas such as fintech, embedded finance, AI, climate technology, health and digital infrastructure.
The initiative builds on Speedinvest’s existing regional portfolio, which includes companies such as Moove, Khazna, Abhi and Flow48.
The company said the fund will be supported by local teams and partnerships and strengthens its long-term commitment to the region.
Sinai.ai raises $1.45 million pre-seed to develop AI-native book platform
Egypt-based Sinai.ai has raised $1.45 million in a pre-seed round led by KAUST Innovation Ventures and DisrupTech Ventures with participation from Maza Ventures, YOUUXEL Ventures, and a group of angel investors.
Founded in 2024 by Ahmed Kamel, Mohamed El Shamy, Mohamed El Shenawy, Hana Malhas, and Abdullah Moassem, the company is building an AI-native book platform that aims to transform traditional content into interactive, personalized experiences.
At the core of its product is aiBookTM, a patented format that enables real-time interaction, adaptive learning, and multimodal content consumption.
The company said the funding will be used to evolve its technology stack, invest in AI infrastructure, secure licensing agreements, and accelerate user acquisition.
Tamatem acquires Playable Factory
Jordan-based gaming company Tamatem has fully acquired Playable Factory, a global platform founded in Istanbul in 2018. The platform allows game developers to increase user acquisition through interactive ad formats.
The platform claims to deliver up to 8x higher conversion rates and improved retention compared to traditional ad formats.
Founded in 2013 by Hussam Hammo, Tamatem is one of the region’s leading Arabic mobile game publishers, with over 70 games published, 300 million downloads, and over 3 million monthly active users.
The acquisition integrates advertising technology into Tamatem’s broader ecosystem of content development, distribution and monetization.
Tamatem has raised more than $25 million to date from investors including Next Ventures, Square Enix, Wamda Capital, and Krafton.
A15 withdraws from Viral Wave following acquisition by PopArabia
Egypt-based venture capital firm A15 has recorded its ninth exit since its portfolio company Viral Wave was acquired by PopArabia.
Founded in 2023 as part of ARPUPlus, Viral Wave operates as a digital music distribution platform, managing content across streaming services and YouTube.
Following the acquisition, Viral Wave will operate as the distribution and label services arm of PopArabia, with the Egypt-based team integrated into the regional operations.
The agreement expands PopArabia and Reservoir’s footprint across the Middle East and North Africa, strengthening their music distribution, monetization and artist services capabilities as digital music consumption continues to grow in the region.
Arabic.AI partners with HeyBreez
UAE-based Arabic.AI has partnered with HeyBreez to provide production-grade Arabic voice AI solutions for enterprises and government agencies.
This partnership combines Arabic intelligence and real-time infrastructure to enable scalable deployment of voice-enabled applications.
Arabic.AI develops advanced natural language processing models that cover modern standard Arabic and regional dialects including Gulf, Levantine, Egyptian, and Maghreb variants.
HeyBreez contributes low-latency infrastructure and supports streaming, multi-agent orchestration, and telephony integration.
The partnership targets a market of more than 400 million Arabic speakers and addresses the limitations of existing AI systems, which have traditionally prioritized English language features.
Ray raises $1.2 million in seed
UAE-based startup Ray has raised $1.2 million in a seed round led by angel investors to support the rollout of power bank sharing services across the GCC.
Founded in 2025 by Igor Kosolup and Roman Avelianov, the company operates a network of portable charging stations where users can rent and return power banks at multiple locations.
The service is currently available in Dubai and Abu Dhabi and is set to expand to 2,000 locations across the UAE.
iSchool acquires Rubikal to strengthen AI education capabilities
Egypt-based education technology company iSchool has acquired software engineering company Rubikal as part of its strategy to accelerate the development of AI-powered education systems.
Founded in 2018, iSchool offers live, instructor-led, gamified coding classes for students across the region.
Founded in 2016, Rubikal specializes in building real-time, scalable, and fault-tolerant web applications.
The acquisition brings Rubikal’s team of 21 engineers and its founding team to iSchool, strengthening its in-house technology capabilities as it continues to expand its platform and integrate more advanced AI-driven learning capabilities.
VAST Data raises $1 billion in Series F at $30 billion valuation
US-based AI infrastructure company VAST Data has raised approximately $1 billion in a Series F round, giving it a valuation of $30 billion.
The round was led by Drive Capital and co-led by Access Industries, with participation from NVIDIA, Fidelity, and NEA.
Founded in 2016 by Renen Hallak, VAST Data develops an AI operating system designed to integrate data, computing, and real-time processing into a single platform.
The company, which has existing locations in Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, said the funding will be used to accelerate global expansion, pursue strategic acquisitions, and further develop AI infrastructure products, reflecting continued investor demand for foundational technologies that support large-scale deployment of AI.
