RIYADH: Startups and investors across the Middle East and North Africa announced funding rounds, acquisitions and regional expansion moves during the week, led by deals in e-commerce, artificial intelligence, education and financial technology.
Keep Converting raises $2m pre-seed round
UAE-based Keep Converting raised $2 million in a pre-seed round led by Nuwa Capital and COTU Ventures. The e-commerce startup will use the funding to onboard merchants and expand its engineering team.
Founded in 2025 by Mohammad El-Mougi and Manuel Prinz, its AI platform personalises product pages using visitor intent and traffic sources. The company reported an average 64 percent conversion-rate increase across active deployments.
Keep Converting is integrated with Shopify, WooCommerce, Adobe Commerce, Zid and Salla. It said setup takes about 10 minutes and most brands see measurable improvement within two weeks.
Fuze Finance enters Switzerland under SO-FIT oversight
UAE’s Fuze Finance expanded into Switzerland, its first Western European market, after becoming an affiliated financial intermediary of SO-FIT. The company will be supervised under Swiss anti-money-laundering rules; it is not a bank or directly supervised by FINMA.
The company plans to provide institutional clients with crypto-asset infrastructure and stablecoin settlement alongside SWIFT, SEPA and SIC rails. Its regulatory footprint also includes the Middle East, Turkey and Canada.
Fuze cited Swiss Bankers Association data estimating banks oversee $11.5 trillion. It said about four in five banks lack regulated crypto-asset offerings and reported more than $12 billion in cumulative digital-asset volume.
Pinnacle invests in Saudi automotive platform Carly
Saudi Arabia’s Pinnacle Growth & Secondary Fund invested in automotive commerce platform Carly through primary and secondary share purchases.
The financial terms were undisclosed, with the investment intended to support Carly’s domestic growth.
The firm facilitates automotive transactions through a digital platform.
Pinnacle Capital, the fund’s manager, is headquartered in Riyadh and licensed by the Capital Market Authority for investment management and securities-arranging activities.
The investment combines fresh capital with purchases from existing shareholders, reflecting Pinnacle’s strategy of using flexible structures to support growth-stage companies in Saudi Arabia.
Gaia secures $1.5m for enterprise AI platform
Saudi enterprise AI startup Gaia raised $1.5 million in a pre-seed round led by Seedra Ventures. The company will use the investment to develop its platform and work with Saudi businesses adopting AI.
Founded in 2026 by Badr Al-Malluh and Mohammad Rababah, Gaia connects company files, emails, systems and workflows while keeping data inside the organisation. Its tools include permission-aware search, an AI assistant and workflow agents.
Gaia said its search results are grounded in company data and preserve existing permissions. High-risk actions performed by its AI agents are routed to employees for approval.
Dawraty raises $2m seed round
Kuwaiti education technology startup Dawraty secured Qatar Development Bank backing as part of a $2 million seed round valuing it at $10 million. The round remains open, with final closing expected in November.
Founded by Ryan Dougherty and Hamad Al-Thunayan, Dawraty provides bilingual, AI-supported professional learning. It operates in Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain and Jordan, and will use the funds to expand its institutional partnerships and course offering.
The company recently signed a partnership and reseller agreement with Qatar Finance and Business Academy, creating its first contracted institutional revenue in Qatar.
PayTabs agrees $100m-plus Amazon payments deal
Saudi fintech PayTabs Group agreed to acquire Amazon Payment Services’ Middle East and North Africa operations in a transaction valued above $100 million. Both parties approved the deal, which will expand PayTabs’ regional payments infrastructure.
Amazon Payment Services operates in nine regional markets and serves more than 3,500 businesses. Following completion, the combined operation is expected to process over SR150 billion ($40 billion) annually across processing, switching and payouts.
Amazon Payment Services, formerly PayFort, supports global card networks and regional payment methods including Mada, Knet and Meeza. The parties expect limited disruption during integration.
Creative Holding secures $20m first close
Abu Dhabi-based Creative Investments Holding secured $20 million in initial commitments at the first close of its founding round, subject to definitive agreements. The company, established through Leo Equities, is targeting up to $50 million.
Founding investors include Onsi Sawiris, Ali Abubakr and Egypt’s Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency. Creative Holding plans investments in food, hospitality, fashion, retail and entertainment, with a potential public listing within seven years.
Creative Holding operates across Abu Dhabi, Cairo and Milan. Its initial pipeline includes a possible heritage-food acquisition and properties being assessed for its Casa Leo boutique-hotel concept.
Velents enters Bahrain through stc partnership
Saudi AI startup Velents entered Bahrain through a partnership with stc Bahrain signed at LEAP 2026. The companies will offer agentic AI product bundles to enterprise customers through the telecom operator’s business platform.
Founded by Mohamed Gaber, Velents develops autonomous agents for workflow automation and decision support. The partnership provides locally delivered infrastructure aligned with Bahraini data requirements and extends the startup’s presence beyond Saudi Arabia and Egypt.
Velents said its agents can automate complex workflows and support operational decisions. The arrangement integrates its technology into stc Bahrain’s business-to-business offering under local rules.
Sav raises $3.5m for Saudi expansion
UAE consumer fintech Sav raised $3.5 million in a pre-series A round led by Phoenix Venture Partners, alongside fund co-investors. The financing brings Sav’s total funding to about $6 million.
Founded in 2022 by Purvi Munot and Mithil Ajmera, Sav combines savings, investments, credit and payments in one platform. The funds will support Saudi expansion, product development, AI infrastructure and user acquisition across the Gulf.
Sav operates under a Dubai Financial Services Authority Category 4 licence. Its SavCore infrastructure is intended to aggregate financial accounts and automate selected money-management decisions.
