Startup Wrap: Saudi startups dominate MENA funding week as a16z makes first GCC bet

Saudi startups lead MENA funding roundup as a16z makes first GCC investment

Saudi Arabia dominated startup financing activity across the Middle East this week, with five Saudi-based firms announcing new capital or structured financing deals. The largest headline was Stitch’s $25 million Series A led by Andreessen Horowitz — marking the US firm’s first investment in the Gulf Cooperation Council — alongside a landmark up-to-$300 million receivables securitization for digital freight network TruKKer arranged and funded by Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank.

"The funding will support product development, regional expansion across the Middle East and North Africa, and global go-to-market growth," Stitch said after closing the round that included participation from Arbor Ventures, COTU Ventures, Raed Ventures and SVC.

Stitch, founded in 2022 by Mohamed Oueida, builds a cloud-native operating system for financial institutions covering lending, cards, payments and ledgers. The company said it processed more than $5 billion in transactions over the last six months and saw its customer base grow tenfold in 2025. The $25 million Series A follows a $10 million seed round closed a year earlier.

• TruKKer — The UAE- and region-focused digital freight network, founded in 2016 by Gaurav Biswas, secured an inaugural trade receivables securitization facility of up to $300 million arranged and funded by Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank. Backed by portfolios of receivables across the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Turkiye, the deal was structured as a non-recourse securitization using a Murabaha facility harmonized across multiple legal jurisdictions — among the GCC’s first multi-jurisdictional, asset-backed securitizations for a high-growth tech startup.
• Aumet — Saudi health tech Aumet raised $12 million in a Series A led by Emkan Capital, with participation from Qatar Development Bank, SABAH VC and AAIC and continuing backers Shorooq Partners and Right Side Capital Management. Founded by Yahya Aqel, Adel Haddad and Shahed Jaber, Aumet builds an AI-first procurement operating system for healthcare providers and pharmacies.
• Stream — Saudi fintech Stream secured a $5.2 million seed extension led by BECO Capital, joined by STV, Flourish Ventures and Arab Bank as well as existing investors Outliers and BYLD. Founded in 2024 by Ibrahim Al-Dlaigan, the billing and payments infrastructure platform has now raised a total of $9.2 million in seed financing.
• Hakeem Health — The Riyadh-based health tech raised $1.65 million led by Merak Capital with participation from Sanabil 500. Founded by Bilal Adi and Mohammed Ayyad, Hakeem Health’s HakeemDx platform integrates with hospital systems to deliver real-time bilingual clinical guidance to clinicians.
• Gabster — Business operations platform Gabster raised $500,000 in a pre-seed round from RAI and T2. Founded by Ibrahim Ali, Gabster is developing an AI-powered business management platform that integrates WhatsApp, Instagram, Telegram, email and live chat.

Other regional moves included UAE cybersecurity startup Lyrie.ai exiting stealth with $2 million in pre-seed funding, Egypt-born Byit expanding into the UAE after a $1.1 million raise, a Snoonu Startup Factory investment in Qatar-based HASIF, and an exit by Beltone Venture Capital and Citadel International from Egyptian logistics player Bosta that generated a 75 percent internal rate of return for the fund.

Looking ahead, the week’s activity underscores sustained investor appetite: a joint MAGNiTT and stc group report cited in the coverage shows venture investment in MENA reached $15.4 billion across 3,329 deals over the past five years, with corporate investors accounting for roughly 12 percent of funding value and deal volume — a backdrop likely to keep capital flowing into late-stage financings and structured credit solutions for scaling tech companies across the region.