Author: Editorial Board

Doha, Qatar – Qatar Insurance Company (QIC) has launched its first AI-focused summer internship program for university students, aiming to equip young talent with practical experience in artificial intelligence, agentic AI, and rapid application development. The eight-week program brings together students from four universities following a competitive selection process that evaluated academic performance, project proposals, and interview results. Participants will receive hands-on training from QIC experts and develop their own AI-powered digital services using emerging technologies such as agentic AI and vibe coding. A key feature of the program is the opportunity for interns to see their ideas move beyond…

A Delaware-incorporated, Uzbekistan-based startup is collapsing the dozen tools a U.S. car-shipping broker juggles into a single platform — and teaching AI to handle the calls, texts, and bookings. It has just raised its first outside capital and is rolling AI agents out to ten live brokerages. The software that runs America’s auto-transport industry was never really built for the people doing the work. Enterprise platforms are priced and designed for large fleets, not for the independent brokers and small teams who book most of the cars that cross the country every day. Those brokers improvise — a CRM in…

Keiretsu Forum MENA, the regional chapter of Keiretsu Forum, the world’s largest angel investor network founded in Silicon Valley, California, has entered into a strategic partnership with FinBursa to strengthen its startup advisory, investor engagement, and deal management capabilities. The partnership brings together Keiretsu Forum’s high-conviction deal curation and regional investor network with FinBursa’s intelligent deal infrastructure to create a more efficient and transparent investment experience across private markets. Keiretsu operates the region’s leading startup investment and advisory ecosystem, connecting high-potential startups with accredited angel investors, family offices, venture capital firms, corporate investors, and institutional investors. Keiretsu continues to expand…

IT Park Ventures has participated in a $4 million equity ASA investment round for UK-based Islamic fintech startup Ayan Capital, contributing $1 million. The round also included international investors from the United Kingdom and Switzerland. The funds raised will be used to further scale the company, enhance its technological capabilities, and expand its team, especially Ayan’s engineering team based in Uzbekistan. Ayan is a UK-based Islamic fintech startup founded by serial entrepreneurs Abdullo Kurbanov, Firdavs Mirzoev, and Zuhursho Rahmatulloev, who previously built Alif, one of the largest fintech companies in Central Asia. Headquartered in London, Ayan Capital is developing a…

Saudi-based Foodics has completed the full acquisition of Greece-based AI and data intelligence startup Norma AI, strengthening its push into AI-powered restaurant operations across the Middle East and North Africa. Founded by George Henein and Anastasios Anastasiadis, Norma AI developed analytics tools that allow restaurant operators to query business data using natural language, eliminating the need for technical expertise. The company launched what it describes as the hospitality industry’s first natural-language business intelligence platform in 2024. Foodics initially acquired a minority stake in Norma in Q1 2025 before integrating its technology into the Foodics ecosystem. Since then, Norma’s analytics solutions…

UAE-based proptech and fintech startup Rentify has secured $2 million in seed funding to support the launch of Earn AI, a new artificial intelligence platform designed to help landlords and property managers optimize rental income and automate day-to-day property operations. The latest investment brings Rentify’s total funding to $2.5 million, following a $500,000 pre-seed round in 2025. The round was backed by a group of real estate and fintech investors. Founded by Rajneel Kumar and Rashed Hareb, Rentify is evolving beyond rental payment infrastructure into a broader AI-powered operating system for the real estate sector. Its newly launched Earn AI…

Fintech startup Sovra has secured more than $2 million in pre-seed funding in a round led by Pharsalus Capital , with participation from a group of prominent regional and global angel investors including Karim Atiyeh, Hisham Al-Falih, Hany Rashwan, and Naguib Sawiris. Founded by Ahmad Wehbi, Sovra is building a financial platform that allows users to hold digital dollars, earn yield, transfer funds globally, and spend through internationally accepted payment cards—all from a self-custodial account controlled entirely by the user. Unlike traditional banking platforms, Sovra’s infrastructure is designed so that users maintain direct ownership and access to their funds without…

Dubizzle Group Announces Strategic Partnership and Investment in Tern, the UAE’s Rental Rewards Platform Dubizzle Group, the leading online classifieds platform in the Middle East, today announced a strategic partnership and investment in Tern, the UAE’s first-of-its-kind rental rewards platform. The partnership will bring a more flexible, digital, and rewarding rental payment experience to tenants, landlords, and agents across the UAE. Dubizzle Group’s strategic investment in Tern reflects the organisation’s commitment to building a richer property ecosystem that supports users beyond search and discovery. Through this partnership, which sees the Tern platform integrated exclusively into Bayut and dubizzle, tenants will…

Saudi Venture Capital (SVC) has announced its investment in Khwarizmi Venture Capital Fund 2. The fund will focus on Seed-to-Series A investments in high-growth tech and tech enabled startups, primarily across the GCC, allocating at least 50% of its capital to Saudi Arabia. While sector-agnostic, the fund sees strong potential in fintech and e-commerce, and AI applications across verticals. Nora Alsarhan, Deputy CEO and CIO at SVC, said: “The investment in the venture capital fund by Khwarizmi Ventures is part of SVC’s Investment in Funds Program and an implementation of its strategy related to attracting fund managers to invest in…

UAE-based Algebra AI has officially emerged from stealth mode, announcing $7 million in financing from a consortium of regional and international investors including BECO Capital, Silicon Badia, Infinity Constellation, and Waseel Investments. The company launches with an existing portfolio of clients across financial services, manufacturing, distribution, and food and beverage sectors, positioning itself as a new category player focused on managed AI services for mid-sized businesses across the Gulf. Algebra AI is led by co-founder and CEO Anis Harb, who previously helped scale Deliveroo’s Middle East operations from launch to more than $1 billion in gross transaction value. The startup…