The Middle East and North Africa region witnessed notable activity in startup investments and acquisitions during the period from 28 December 2025 to 4 January 2026, with deals ranging from Pre-Seed rounds to strategic investments and major acquisition transactions.
According to the “entArabi” report titled “Startup Investments and Acquisitions Report: 28 December 2025 – 4 January 2026,” the tracked deals reflect an accelerating shift toward digital transformation, strengthened technological capabilities, and growing innovation momentum across sectors including energy, travel and tourism, artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, and financial services.
Key deals during the week included:
Saudi Arabia’s LAB7 participated in a seed investment round to support Finland-based Halide Energy, a developer of Redox Flow battery technology for long-duration energy storage.
UAE-based V Booking raised $5 million to scale its AI-powered travel platform and launch its “AI Concierge” smart tourism assistant.
Meta acquired Chinese AI startup Manus in a deal exceeding $2 billion to strengthen its artificial-intelligence capabilities.
Morocco’s Woliz closed a $2.2 million Pre-Seed round to support the digital transformation of the retail sector.
Falak Investment Network invested in Saudi platforms BookaHospi and Ballurh to support digital healthcare recruitment and F&B operations optimization.
Merak Capital injected $54 million into Saudi cybersecurity firm DSShield to expand its digital-security infrastructure.
Saudi startup Rewaa closed a $45 million Series B round to further develop its AI-driven business-operations platform.
Ressan Holding acquired a 20% stake in Qirat Advisory to strengthen financial and operational solutions for companies in the Saudi market.
Investment Breakdown by Country
| Country | Number of Startups | Total Investments (USD Million) | Key Deals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Saudi Arabia | 6 | 1,224 | LAB7/Halide, BookaHospi, Ballurh, DSShield, Rewaa, Qirat Advisory |
| UAE | 1 | 5 | V Booking |
| Morocco | 1 | 2.2 | Woliz |
| China | 1 | 2,000+ | Manus (Meta Acquisition) |
| Total | 9 | 3,231.2+ | — |
Investment Breakdown by Sector
| Sector | Number of Startups | Total Investments (USD Million) | Key Deals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Energy & Storage | 1 | Not disclosed | LAB7 / Halide |
| Travel & Tourism | 1 | 5 | V Booking |
| Artificial Intelligence | 2 | 2,000+ | Meta / Manus, Rewaa |
| Cybersecurity | 1 | 54 | DSShield |
| Digital Retail | 1 | 2.2 | Woliz |
| Healthcare Recruitment | 1 | Not disclosed | BookaHospi |
| Cloud Kitchens & F&B Ops | 1 | Not disclosed | Ballurh |
| Financial & Operational Solutions | 1 | Not disclosed | Qirat Advisory |
| Total | 9 | 3,231.2+ |
