Author: Editorial Board

Qureos, an AI-powered hiring platform founded in the Middle East, has raised $5 million in seed funding to accelerate its growth across the MENA region. The round was led by Prosus Ventures and Salica Oryx Fund, with participation from Oraseya Capital, Plus VC, F6 Ventures, BDev Ventures, Sunny Side Venture Partners, and Daniel Tyre, an early HubSpot executive who helped scale the company from inception through IPO. Existing investors COTU Ventures and Globivest also participated in the round. Founded by Alexander Epure and Usama Nini, Qureos was built around a core insight: hiring delays are driven less by volume and…

The Qatar Investment Authority is set to invest in five new venture capital funds as part of its expanded $3 billion venture capital program, reinforcing Qatar’s ambition to position Doha as a regional venture capital hub. The selected funds—Greycroft, Ion Pacific, Liberty City Ventures, Shorooq, and Speedinvest—are expected to establish offices in Doha as part of the initiative, according to a statement from QIA. The investments fall under Qatar’s Fund of Funds initiative, launched in 2024 to attract international VC managers, strengthen the local startup ecosystem, and support economic diversification beyond hydrocarbons—mirroring similar strategies adopted across the Gulf. The program’s…

Shorooq, a leading tech-focused, multi-strategy investment firm, today announced the launch of its $200 million late-stage growth fund under the Qatalyst Series, backed by Qatar Investment Authority alongside a group of sovereign and institutional partners from the GCC and Asia. The announcement was made on the sidelines of Web Summit Qatar. The fund is purpose-built to support companies at a critical inflection point—businesses with proven scale, strong unit economics, and clear pathways to exit, particularly through the IPO route. By bringing long-duration, institutional capital to late-stage and pre-IPO opportunities, the Qatalyst Series is designed to address a longstanding gap in…

Uzbekistan-based technology company OX Group has raised $900,000 in new funding from regional venture investors IT Park Ventures and United Ventures, with IT Park Ventures contributing $400,000 to the round. The fresh capital will be used to strengthen OX Group’s IT infrastructure, further develop its technology stack, and expand operations across Central Asian markets, as demand grows for data-driven retail and supply-chain solutions in the region. Powering smarter retail operations At the core of OX Group’s offering is Ox System, an end-to-end platform designed to automate procurement, inventory management, and point-of-sale (POS) operations. The system consolidates business data into a…

AI deeptech startup Zehn has announced the successful close of its $300,000 pre-seed funding round, valuing the company at a $15 million post-money, during the official launch of Area AI 1.0 in Dushanbe. The round attracted backing from a mix of international and regional investors, including Battery Road Digital Holdings (US), FIFTYFIVE GROUP (Tajikistan), and Accelerate Prosperity (Tajikistan)—highlighting growing confidence in Zehn’s approach to solving one of artificial intelligence’s most persistent challenges. Building AI for the edge cases that matter Zehn focuses on outlier-centric AI modeling, targeting scenarios that traditional datasets often overlook. Working across large language models (LLMs) and…

Epoint has officially entered the Georgian market after obtaining a license from the National Bank of Georgia to provide card payment acquiring services across the country. With this move, Georgia becomes the company’s first international market, marking a major milestone in Epoint’s global expansion strategy. The expansion follows a strong performance in its home market. In 2025, Epoint processed AZN 500 million in gross merchandise value (GMV) in Azerbaijan, reaching another significant milestone and reinforcing its position as one of the country’s fast-growing fintech players. According to the company, Epoint’s team spent nearly a year preparing for the Georgian launch,…

Web Summit Qatar opened its doors on Sunday, 1 February 2026, marking its largest edition to date and firmly cementing Doha’s position as a global meeting point for technology, capital, and innovation. Held at the Doha Exhibition and Convention Centre, the event welcomed 30,274 attendees, 1,637 startups, and 931 investors from 127 countries, underscoring the growing gravitational pull of the Middle East within the global tech ecosystem. In just two years, Web Summit Qatar has recorded 100% growth in attendance, rising from 15,000 participants to more than 30,000—clear evidence of rising international appetite to explore opportunities in Qatar and the…

Qatar is taking a decisive step to strengthen its entrepreneurial ecosystem and diversify its economy with the launch of a 10-year residency program targeting entrepreneurs and senior executives. The announcement was made on Sunday by H.E. Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani, Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Qatar, signaling a renewed push to attract global talent, foster innovation, and position the country as a long-term base for high-impact founders and business leaders. The move aligns Qatar with similar long-term residency initiatives introduced in recent years by regional peers, including Saudi Arabia and the United Arab…

Qatar’s digital payments ecosystem continues to gain momentum as SkipCash closes a $4 million Series A funding round, accelerating its expansion across the GCC and deepening investment in mobile-first payment technologies. The round attracted participation from Qatar Development Bank, Qatar Islamic Insurance Company, KBN Holding Group, Finjan Venture Investments, Ula Capital, and Doha Tech Angels. The investment comes on the back of strong operating momentum, with SkipCash processing over QAR 1 billion in transactions during 2025, underscoring rising adoption of contactless and mobile-based payments across Qatar. Strengthening Qatar’s Smart Payments Infrastructure The new capital reinforces SkipCash’s position as one of…

As food security and climate resilience climb higher on the GCC’s strategic agenda, agri-technology companies are increasingly evaluated not on experimentation, but on their ability to commercialize, scale, and regionalize. That shift helps explain why Hydrovest Technology, a Doha-based climate-smart agriculture company, has secured approximately $275,000 (QAR 1 million) in fresh funding. The capital will be used to scale production, broaden its product portfolio, and prepare for regional expansion beyond Qatar. From Pilot Projects to Commercial Scale The investment marks a pivotal transition for Hydrovest as it moves from pilot deployments toward repeatable, commercial-scale operations. The company plans to allocate…