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Welcome to another edition of 🔍 Startup Researcher - Middle East, your essential digest delivering the latest news and premium insights on startups and venture capital across the region 🌍

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📰 Important News

• Endeavor launched the Unicorn Builder in the UAE to fund and scale high-growth startups, partnering with Dubai’s economic entities.

• Huda Kattan regained full ownership of Huda Beauty, ending her TSG partnership; she and her husband returned as co-CEOs.

• Kuwait Investment Authority joined the AI Infrastructure Partnership as its first non-founder anchor investor.

• Cloud Spaces opened its largest location at Dubai Mall Fountain Views, offering premium flexible workspaces.

💸 Top Funding Rounds

• Taawoni landed $1.6 million to grow its AI-powered edtech platform linking universities and employers across the MENA region.

• ShipBee raised $235,000 in pre-seed funding to develop its AI logistics platform and expand across the GCC and MENA, aligning with Vision 2030 goals.

• eVoost closed a seed round led by Qora71 to expand globally with its AI-driven PropTech platform for personalized buyer journeys.

🏦 About Investors

• Khwarizmi Ventures announced a $120 million fund for early-stage MENA startups, focusing on Seed to Series A and Saudi-based or expanding firms.

• EightClouds secured $20 million in just 11 months to drive acquisitions and scale consumer brands across the GCC, focusing on UAE and Saudi Arabia.

• Arab Fund’s Badir Fund backed Shorooq’s Nahda Fund II to boost SME credit via flexible, non-dilutive venture debt across MENA.

• Stride Ventures expanded into the GCC with a Saudi focus, aiming to triple AUM by 2026 amid a 54% CAGR in regional venture debt.

• Saudi CMA licensed Aditum Capital and Tam Capital for investment and fund management, focusing on compliant financial services.

🚀 Startup of the Week

Introducing our Startup of the Week 🏆

Taawoni

Taawoni is a Saudi edtech startup founded in 2021 by Aliyah Alghubayn, offering an AI-powered platform that automates cooperative training programs by connecting universities with public and private sector organizations. To support its growth and expansion across the MENA region, Taawoni closed a $1.6 million investment round led by M Capital. In addition to streamlining internships through onboarding, tracking, and evaluation, the platform provides AI-driven learning and mentorship tools that align with Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 and promote lifelong professional development.

💼 Investor of the Week

Introducing our Investor of the Week 🏆

Khwarizmi Ventures

Khwarizmi Ventures, a Saudi-based venture capital firm founded in 2018 and backed by Kadi Group Holding and Almoujil Group, is preparing to launch its second fund of up to $120 million to support early-stage startups across the MENA region. Building on the success of its first $70 million fund, the firm will focus on Seed to Series A investments, with a strong emphasis on Saudi-based and Saudi-bound companies that have a product, early traction, and clear growth potential. Managing Partner Abdulaziz Al-Turki views the current market as a “golden opportunity,” aiming to back the region’s next wave of unicorns and contribute to a projected rise from eight to 60 unicorns by 2035.

🤑 Opportunity Radar

Call for Applications: Techstars New York City Accelerator

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