Hello there,

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 🌍

If you haven't subscribed yet, now's the perfect time. Don't miss the opportunity to supercharge your understanding and stay ahead in this dynamic world.

Let's delve into the core sections of our weekly newsletter:

• 📰 Important News

• 💸 Top Funding Rounds

• 💰️ Notable Exits

• 🏦 About Investors

• 📈 Deep Dive Bites

• 🚀 Startup Of the Week

• 💼 Investor of the Week

• 🤑 Opportunity Radar

📰 Important News

• The Saudi Ministry of Media, with eWTP Arabia Capital, Alibaba Cloud, and the Fujian Youth Federation, has launched a 3-4 month accelerator for media startups, offering mentorship and networking to support innovations in AI, content creation, and media analytics.

💸 Top Funding Rounds

• Saudi SaaS provider Blend has raised $1.3 million in a pre-seed round to expand its restaurant management platform to other Gulf countries.

• Saudi Arabia-based food pick-up app TWLM has raised $270,000 in investment to expand its footprint across the Kingdom and reach 1,000 locations by the end of 2024.

💰️ Notable Exits

• Nama Ventures announces NVIDIA's acquisition of its portfolio company, Brev.dev, which provides startups with access to AI chipsets.

🏦 About Investors

• UAE-based SANDBOX, backed by Oraseya Capital, has graduated seven startups from its fourth cohort, each receiving a $150,000 investment after completing a five-month accelerator program.

• Ayar Third Investment Co., an affiliate of Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF), has invested $1.5 billion in Lucid Group, including $750 million in convertible preferred stock and $750 million in an unsecured loan, to support its electric vehicle initiatives.

📈 Deep Dive Bites

Discover the dynamic world of angel investing across the Middle East, beyond Saudi Arabia and UAE. This guide highlights nine key angel networks fostering entrepreneurship from Bahrain to Lebanon. Explore how these platforms provide capital, mentorship, and strategic support to early-stage startups. Delve into the full article to uncover each network's unique impact on innovation and economic growth in diverse MENA markets.

🚀 Startup Of the Week

Introducing our Startup of the Week 🏆

Blend

Blend, a Saudi-based SaaS company founded in 2023, provides integrated tech solutions for restaurants, cafes, hypermarkets, and cloud kitchens. Their platform consolidates multiple food delivery services into a single interface, streamlining order management and reporting for business owners. The company has recently secured $1.3 million in pre-seed funding, which it plans to use to expand its restaurant management platform to other Gulf countries.

💼 Investor of the Week

Introducing our Investor of the Week 🏆

Oraseya Capital

Oraseya Capital is a Dubai-based venture capital fund that invests in startups from pre-seed to Series B stages with an existing tie to Dubai and the UAE. Having backed over 20 startups so far including RemotePass and Growdash, the firm intends to invest in over 100 startups in the next 4 to 5 years.

The firm backs SANDBOX, a UAE-based accelerator program that recently graduated its fourth cohort of seven startups. Each of these startups received a $150,000 investment from Oraseya Capital after completing SANDBOX's five-month program.

🤑 Opportunity Radar

Google for Startups - AI First Accelerator

Apply now to Google for Startups AI First Accelerator, a 10-week, equity-free hybrid program tailored for Seed to Series A startups from MENA and Turkey. Designed to support high-potential startups leveraging AI and machine learning, this program offers dedicated mentoring from Google teams, access to technical boot camps, and early access to new Google products and tools. The program begins in October 2024 and includes a Demo Day in December 2024. Don't miss this chance to accelerate your startup's growth—apply by August 18, 2024, to join this transformative opportunity.