Author: Editorial Board

VAST Data, the AI Operating System company, today announced the closing of its Series F financing at a $30 billion valuation, representing more than a threefold increase from its $9.1 billion Series E valuation in late 2023. The latest round was led by Drive Capital, with Access Industries acting as co-lead, and included participation from existing investors, including NVIDIA, Fidelity, and NEA, alongside new investors. This financing reflects the accelerating demand for a new data infrastructure stack needed for the development and deployment of artificial generally intelligent systems. The financing included primary and secondary capital, bringing the total transaction value…

Oman-based foodtech startup FASCANO has closed a $10 million investment round to accelerate product development and expand its operational solutions for the hospitality and food & beverage sector across the region. The round saw participation from His Highness Sayyid Dr. Kamel bin Fahd Al Said and Cyfr Capital, in partnership with Future Fund Oman under the Oman Investment Authority. Founded in 2021 by Ahmed Al Kharusi and Murak Al Muairki, FASCANO develops technology and operational tools designed to help hospitality and F&B businesses improve efficiency, streamline workflows, and enhance service quality. The new funding marks the company’s third investment round…

China’s tech giant Tencent has become a shareholder in Kazakhstan-based fintech powerhouse Kaspi.kz, marking a notable cross-border move in the evolving global super app landscape. Kaspi.kz (Nasdaq: KSPI) announced that Tencent, alongside co-founder and CEO Mikheil Lomtadze, senior management, and long-term institutional investors, has acquired 6 million American Depositary Shares (ADSs) from Baring Fintech Venture Funds. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed. Lomtadze framed Tencent’s entry as a strategic alignment rather than a purely financial investment. “Tencent pioneered the super app ecosystem business model, and we have long admired its ability to combine innovation at scale with disciplined…

A15, a Cairo-based early-stage venture capital firm focused on the MENA region, today announced the acquisition of Viral Wave, an A15 portfolio company, by PopArabia, a partner in the MENA region to NASDAQ-listed Reservoir (NASDAQ: RSVR). The transaction represents A15’s ninth exit and further demonstrates the firm’s consistent track record of backing outliers and delivering returns to its investors. Spun out from ARPUPlus, A15’s venture-building arm, Viral Wave is a UAE-headquartered music digital distribution company providing end-to-end services across digital distribution, YouTube management, and monetisation on major global streaming platforms. The company has administered a catalog generating over 55 billion…

Ray, a powerbank-sharing service, announced its launch in Dubai and revealed it has raised a $1.2 million seed round, primarily from private investors, including Meirambek Abelkasov and Serik Uspanov, co-founders of the kick-sharing company JET. With the incoming funds, Ray plans to expand its station network across the UAE and GCC, targeting high-traffic hospitality venues, shopping malls, and transport hubs. Founded by Igor Kosolap and Roman Averianov, Ray provides portable charging stations installed in restaurants, cafes, malls, and other public venues. Users can rent a powerbank directly from the station and return it to any other station within the network. The…

Saudi fashion startup Aya has announced the successful close of its SAR 26 million Series A round, led by RAED Ventures, with participation from Nuwa Capital, Sanabil Investments (a wholly owned company of PIF), Khwarizmi Ventures, Joa Capital and other investors. Founded in 2024, Aya has rapidly scaled its operations, growing to more than 60 team members, serving over 100,000 customers, and achieving 9x year-on-year growth. The company operates a demand-driven model that allows it to launch trends in real time, test over 700 designs monthly, validate demand within hours, and only invest in production for products that show clear…

Within the framework of the visit of the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan and the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan to Bukhara on April 11, 2026, IT Park Ventures and White Hill Capital signed an agreement on the establishment of a joint investment fund in Uzbekistan with a target size of up to USD 2 million. The significance of this step is underscored by the continued strengthening of the startup and venture ecosystems in Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan, which are creating new opportunities for the launch, financing, and scaling of technology-driven companies. In Uzbekistan, venture activity has seen substantial…

Riyadh-based PayTabs Group has acquired 100% of UAE-based contactless payments platform TAPn’GO, integrating its technology directly into the company’s Super App — a unified commerce platform designed for merchants across the MENA region. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. The acquisition brings TAPn’GO’s smartphone-based contactless payment capabilities into PayTabs’ ecosystem, enabling merchants to accept payments seamlessly across physical, on-site, and digital environments. The solution includes features such as bill splitting, tipping, QR-code ordering, and paperless receipts — all synchronized with point-of-sale systems. Already live in the UAE and Saudi Arabia, the technology is integrated with POS providers including…

The Poland-based startup’s $2.5 million pre-seed round was co-led by Movens Capital and Vastpoint. The AI startup Replenit has secured $2.5 million, with the pre-seed round jointly led by Movens Capital and Vastpoint. Investors in the round also include Logo Ventures, Finberg, Caucasus Ventures, and Mati Staniszewski from ElevenLabs. The company stated that it will use the new funding to deepen product development, expand its AI research, and grow its engineering teams in Poland and the Netherlands. Replenit was founded in 2025 by İlyas Kürklü, Alp Karacaev, Ömer Özden, Caner Demir, Egemen Akdan, and Cenk Karacaev. The company is developing…

Muzica uses a distinct stylistic approach for each genre: when composing arabesque, it adopts a language of melancholy and longing; in folk songs (türkü), it preserves the traditional refrain structure; in Turkish classical music, it remains faithful to the aesthetics of maqam; and in lullabies, it favors short and repetitive syllabic patterns. Launched in Istanbul in the last quarter of 2025, Muzica was developed by DokuzDoksanDesign, the application and content team of DokuzDoksan Advertising Agency. Focused on generating Turkish-language songs with AI, Muzica is currently available on iOS, Android, and the web via muzica.tr. Built by a team of four,…