| | | | | | | Hello there, | Here's your Monday catch-up from  the Middle East! |  MBZUAI and Inception42 launched Jais 3.
 Autobia raised US$12 million in Series A.
 Oraseya Capital's fund doubled to AED 1 billion (~US$272.29M).
 Macnica plans to acquire a majority stake in CyberSec.
| Ready? Let’s get right into it. |
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| | | | | | |  Important News
| | MBZUAI and Inception42 launched Jais 3, an Arabic-native AI fleet featuring six open language models and Jais Speech, built on K2 Horizon. Paymentology and Huru expanded their partnership to support Huru's card launch on Jaywan, the UAE's domestic card scheme. Cycls launched four specialized AI agents to handle business research, Saudi legal work, marketing, and stock market analysis via sovereign cloud. Sakhi partnered with Lean Technologies to embed Lean Insights into its lending journey in Saudi Arabia. Egypt's Ministry of Youth and Sports and the FRA signed a MoU to empower youth in fintech and non-banking financial services.
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| | | | | | | Top Funding Rounds | Autobia raised US$12 million in Series A to expand its marketplace, logistics infrastructure, and embedded financial services across Saudi Arabia. JustAd secured US$5 million from Imad Jomaa to accelerate expansion into new markets with its AI-powered marketing OS and Advertise Now, Pay Later model. Alo Hakeem closed a US$165,000 Pre-Seed round led by Ebla Ventures to launch its app and expand home healthcare to four more governorates. Salehli raised a US$100,000 Pre-Seed round led by EBLA Ventures to expand services, launch B2B offerings, and reach more cities. Funding Souq secured a Strategic Investment from Foodics to expand embedded financing for SMEs across Saudi Arabia and the UAE.
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| | | | | | |  ️ IPO and M&A Watch
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| | | | | | | About Investors | Phoenix Venture Partners completed fundraising for PVPIF, raising approximately US$23 million across the fund and dedicated co-investment vehicles. Activate Capital joined QIA's US$3 billion Fund of Funds and will open its first international office in Doha. The Dubai Integrated Economic Zones Authority doubled the Oraseya Capital venture fund to AED 1 billion (~US$272.29M). Rasmal Ventures and Strategic Gears signed an MoU to create a two-way bridge between Saudi Arabia and Asia. Falak launched The Fintech Navigator in Saudi Arabia to help fintech professionals discover opportunities and partnerships.
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| | | | | | |  Startup of the Week
| | Introducing our Startup of the Week  | Autobia | Founded in 2021 by Emad Daghreri and Ahmed Alawfi, Autobia is a Saudi Arabia-based B2B autotech startup operating a digital marketplace for automotive spare parts and embedded financial services. The company connects auto parts retailers and wholesalers with verified suppliers through procurement, fulfillment, logistics, and inventory financing tools. CEO Emad Daghreri and COO Ahmed Alawfi are leading an expansion across Saudi Arabia after a US$12 million Series A led by Artal Capital, with participation from Aljazira Capital and Wa’ed Ventures. The fresh capital will support wider presence, logistics infrastructure, dynamic pricing technology, and inventory on terms solutions within the Kingdom’s automotive aftermarket. |
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| | | | | | |  Investor of the Week
| | Introducing our Investor of the Week | Phoenix Venture Partners | Phoenix Venture Partners, an ADGM-domiciled and FSRA-regulated venture capital fund manager based in Abu Dhabi, has completed fundraising for Phoenix Venture Partners Innovation Fund CEIC Ltd., raising approximately US$23 million across the fund and dedicated co-investment vehicles, with 42 investors from nine jurisdictions. The fund has delivered top-decile performance, with a TVPI of 1.53x and seven portfolio companies, and retains 45% of committed capital for deployment. It targets technology companies that can scale across MENA and internationally, with deployment expected throughout 2027 and potentially into 2028. The investor base includes KSH Investments, Al-Imtiaz Investment Group, and Lucaslux. Steve Khayat, Founder and CEO, and Co-Founder Faris Al-Obaid lead the firm. |
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| | | | | | |  Opportunities Expiring Soon
| |  Organizer: Dar Ventures
 Category: Accelerator
 Target Stages: Pre-seed, Seed, Pre-Series A
 Focus Sectors: Infrastructure & Smart Cities, Real Estate & PropTech, Energy & Environment, AI & Data, Manufacturing & Materials, Software & IT
 Application Deadline: October 24, 2026
| | Organizer: Crazy Town Oy Category: Accelerator Target Stages: Ideation, Pre-seed, Seed, Pre-Series A, Series A Focus Sectors: Energy & Environment, DeepTech, Manufacturing & Materials Application Deadline: October 25, 2026
| | Organizer: Yamaha Corporation Category: Award/Prize, Competition/Challenge, Funding Target Stages: Stage Agnostic Focus Sectors: Media & Entertainment, Health & Life Sciences, Fitness & Sports Application Deadline: October 31, 2026
| | Organizer: Entrepreneurs Roundtable Accelerator (ERA) Category: Accelerator, Funding Target Stages: Pre-seed, Seed Focus Sectors: Sector Agnostic Application Deadline: November 2, 2026
| | Organizer: Y Combinator Category: Accelerator, Funding Target Stages: Ideation, Pre-seed, Seed Focus Sectors: Sector Agnostic Application Deadline: November 3, 2026
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| | | | | | |  That’s It for Today!
| Thank you for joining us this week! We trust you found value in our latest edition. | Let us know what you think | | Your feedback is invaluable to us, so please don't hesitate to share your thoughts by replying to this email. We're committed to continuously improving and delivering content tailored to your interests and needs  | Looking forward to staying connected and bringing you more exciting content next time! |
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