UAE-based investment firm Shorooq and Presight, a G42 company specialising in applied AI, have invested in US industrial robotics startup Maven Robotics as part of its $100 million Series A round.
The investment was made through the Presight–Shorooq AI and Bedaya Funds, both managed by Shorooq. The round also included RoboStrategy, LocalGlobe, Vine Ventures and XTX Ventures. The individual investment amounts from Shorooq and Presight were not disclosed.
Founded in 2024 by Hamza Derbas and headquartered in Santa Clara, California, Maven Robotics develops intelligent autonomous robots for logistics and manufacturing. The company is initially focused on mixed-case palletising and tote handling, two industrial workflows that Maven estimates represent an $80 billion addressable market.
According to the company, its robots are already operating for up to 16 hours per day at customer sites with reliability above 99%. Maven now plans to manufacture 250 units of its third-generation robots.
The new funding will support the expansion of Maven’s third-generation fleet and the development of its fourth-generation system, as the company moves beyond palletising into a broader range of materials-handling applications.
The investment also strengthens the connection between the UAE’s growing AI ecosystem and Silicon Valley’s emerging physical AI sector. Through Presight and Shorooq, Maven gains access not only to capital but also to AI expertise, compute infrastructure and enterprise relationships across the region.
Maven CEO and co-founder Hamza Derbas said the company is focused on solving industrial labour challenges and deploying robotics at scale, with the Middle East potentially serving as a hub for its global expansion.
