The MENA startup ecosystem witnessed a vibrant week of venture activity from June 22 to 25, 2025, with at least eight funding deals announced across sectors including gaming, fintech, AI, deep tech, and logistics.
The total disclosed funding exceeded $76.1 million, underscoring investor confidence in the region’s tech-driven innovation, even amid global economic uncertainties.
Saudi Arabia Leads in Capital; Egypt Dominates by Deal Count
- Saudi Arabia topped the charts in terms of largest disclosed ticket size, with Impact46 participating in a $5 million seed round for the US-based Spekter Games, in addition to announcing a SAR 150 million (~$40 million) fund dedicated to gaming and future tech.
- Meanwhile, Egypt stood out with the highest number of announced initiatives, leading three deals focused on agritech (AgriCash), deep tech (Aria Ventures), and AI-driven logistics (Nowlun).
Top Announced Deals (June 22–25)
| Company | Country | Sector | Deal Size |
| AppliedAI | UAE | Artificial Intelligence | $55M (Series A) |
| PoliCloud | France (with Arab backers) | Sovereign Cloud/HPC | €7.5M |
| Spekter Games | USA (Saudi-backed) | Web3 Gaming | $5M |
| AgriCash | Egypt | Agrifintech | Undisclosed |
| Aria Ventures | Egypt | Deep Tech | EGP 50M (~$1.6M) |
| Nowlun | Egypt | AI Logistics | $2.3M |
| Nascent Materials | US/Morocco | Battery Tech | $2.3M |
| Idea-L® | Global | AI/Web3 | $1M |
| Related | UAE | Loyalty/Fintech | SAR 30M (~$8M) |
Total funding disclosed: $76M+, excluding undisclosed AgriCash deal.
Egypt: A Hotbed for Agritech, Deep Tech, and AI Innovation
Three of the week’s most noteworthy deals originated from Egypt:
- AgriCash closed a pre-seed round (amount undisclosed) led by Alex Angels to scale its “BNPL for farmers” model, with expansion plans across Egypt and neighboring markets. The company aims to reach EGP 500 million in transactions by end-2025.
- Nowlun, a logistics AI startup, secured $2.3M to build an intelligent freight assistant and expand across Egypt and Saudi Arabia.
- Aria Ventures committed EGP 50 million (~$1.6M) toward deep tech startups, with ambitions to grow the fund to EGP 200 million by 2029. Focus areas include AI, robotics, biotech, and IoT.
Egypt’s funding landscape is clearly shifting toward advanced technology, transitioning from traditional SaaS to research-based deep tech.
UAE Delivers the Week’s Largest Round via AppliedAI
- Abu Dhabi-based AppliedAI raised $55 million in Series A funding, led by MEVP and G42, to expand globally and enhance its AI platform Opus, designed to automate back-office functions for regulated industries like healthcare and finance.
- The deal marks one of the largest AI rounds in MENA for 2025, reinforcing the UAE’s standing as a regional hub for frontier innovation.
Saudi Arabia’s Strategic Bet on Gaming and Web3
- Impact46 co-led a $5 million round for Spekter Games, a next-gen Web3 gaming studio building on Telegram’s mini-app infrastructure. Global co-investors included a16z Speedrun, LVP, and BRV Capital.
- This comes in the wake of Impact46’s launch of a SAR 150 million gaming-focused fund, highlighting Saudi Arabia’s ambition to lead globally in gaming, metaverse, and immersive technologies.
Emerging Investment Themes: AI and Web3 Take Center Stage
A closer look at the week’s deals reveals a clear tilt toward:
- Artificial Intelligence (AI): Startups like AppliedAI, Nowlun, Idea-L®, and Nascent Materials are leveraging AI in diverse applications—from freight automation to energy storage and digital entrepreneurship.
- Web3 and Decentralized Tools: Deals like Spekter Games and Idea-L® emphasize investor appetite for next-gen gaming and decentralized venture building.
This signals a growing preference among VCs for deep-tech solutions with global potential, rather than conventional consumer SaaS models.
Week in Review: Saudi Drives Capital; Egypt Pushes Innovation; UAE Delivers Scale
- Saudi Arabia demonstrated its growing impact as a global investor in emerging sectors like Web3 gaming and immersive tech.
- Egypt emerged as a breeding ground for diversified innovation, particularly in AI, agriculture, and logistics.
- The UAE maintained its reputation for scaling tech, with the largest single-ticket round of the week via AppliedAI.
Looking ahead, MENA’s venture ecosystem appears primed for a high-impact Q3, with expected growth in green tech, AI healthcare, and education solutions—anchored by increasing cross-border investment.
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