{"id":52854,"date":"2025-11-05T15:07:13","date_gmt":"2025-11-05T12:07:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/entarabi.com\/?p=52854"},"modified":"2025-11-05T15:12:47","modified_gmt":"2025-11-05T12:12:47","slug":"startup-investments-and-acquisitions-exceed-170-million-as-the-ai-and-gaming-sectors-continue-to-gain-momentum","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/entarabi.com\/en\/2025\/11\/startup-investments-and-acquisitions-exceed-170-million-as-the-ai-and-gaming-sectors-continue-to-gain-momentum\/","title":{"rendered":"Startup investments and acquisitions exceed $170 million, as the AI and gaming sectors continue to gain momentum"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Startups across the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region witnessed notable activity in October 2025 in terms of investments and acquisitions, driven by a clear increase in interest in artificial intelligence (AI), fintech, and logistics technologies.<\/p>\n

According to the October 2025 Monthly Investment and Acquisition Report for the Middle East and Gulf Region by “entArabi”, Saudi Arabia topped the regional scene in terms of both deal count and total funding, followed by the UAE Meanwhile, the AI, fintech, and logistics sectors emerged as the most attractive fields for investors.<\/p>\n

Monthly Trends<\/h3>\n

Saudi Arabia continued to lead the regional landscape, driven by Vision 2030 and large-scale projects in AI, gaming, and enterprise technologies.<\/p>\n

The UAE, on the other hand, focused on supporting tech startups through funding programs and institutional funds, with significant investments and acquisitions in AI and operational technologies.<\/p>\n

AI, fintech, and logistics deals remained the most attractive to investors, while international investors and institutional funds increased their participation in the region \u2014 reflecting growing confidence in the Arab entrepreneurial ecosystem.<\/p>\n

Key Deals in October 2025<\/h2>\n

Saudi Arabia<\/strong><\/h4>\n
    \n
  • \n

    Watad Medical:<\/strong> Pre-Seed round to expand ambulance and home healthcare services.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n

  • \n

    Logexa:<\/strong> Pre-Series A round worth $2 million<\/strong> to enhance its logistics and smart warehousing platform.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n

  • \n

    Squadio:<\/strong> Raised $3 million<\/strong> in a Pre-Series A round to expand remote tech hiring.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n

  • \n

    BRKZ:<\/strong> Secured $30 million<\/strong> in funding to accelerate growth in the construction materials and supply chain market.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n

  • \n

    HUMAIN:<\/strong> Partial acquisition by the Public Investment Fund (PIF)<\/strong> and Aramco<\/strong> to develop the national AI ecosystem.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

    United Arab Emirates<\/strong><\/h4>\n
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    • \n

      UnifyApps:<\/strong> Raised $50 million<\/strong> to develop an enterprise AI operating system.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n

    • \n

      Qaws.ai:<\/strong> Acquired Samas Gamify<\/strong> to launch an AI-powered smart hiring platform.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n

    • \n

      Cercli:<\/strong> Closed a $12 million Series A<\/strong> round led by Picus Capital<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n

    • \n

      TabSense:<\/strong> Raised $5 million<\/strong> to expand its smart restaurant and caf\u00e9 management platform.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n

    • \n

      1001 AI:<\/strong> Secured $9 million<\/strong> to build operational AI solutions.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n

    • \n

      University of Dubai & Significa Ventures:<\/strong> Launched the Dubai TechX Fund<\/strong> worth $27 million<\/strong> to support tech startups.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

      Other Countries<\/strong><\/h4>\n
        \n
      • \n

        Kuwait:<\/strong> Aayan Leasing and Investment<\/em> acquired a strategic stake in Dawi<\/strong>, a digital healthcare platform.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n

      • \n

        Morocco:<\/strong> Logidoo<\/strong> acquired Kamtar<\/strong> in a $2 million<\/strong> deal.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n

      • \n

        Tunisia:<\/strong> Anavid<\/strong> raised $200K<\/strong> from a startup program.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n

      • \n

        Egypt:<\/strong> Plastka<\/strong> closed a Seed round to enhance AI-powered recycling solutions.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

        Investments by Country<\/strong><\/h2>\n
        \n
        \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
        Country<\/strong><\/th>\nDeals<\/strong><\/th>\nTotal Investments (USD Million)<\/strong><\/th>\nKey Deals<\/strong><\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n
        Saudi Arabia<\/strong><\/td>\n6<\/td>\n64.6<\/td>\nBRKZ \u2013 HUMAIN \u2013 Squadio \u2013 Najeeb.ai \u2013 Velents.ai \u2013 Watad Medical<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
        UAE<\/strong><\/td>\n6<\/td>\n\u2248103 (50 + 27 + 12 + 5 + 9)<\/td>\nUnifyApps \u2013 Qaws.ai \u2013 Cercli \u2013 TabSense \u2013 1001 AI \u2013 Dubai TechX<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
        Kuwait<\/strong><\/td>\n1<\/td>\nNot disclosed<\/td>\nDawi<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
        Morocco<\/strong><\/td>\n1<\/td>\n2<\/td>\nLogidoo \u2013 Kamtar<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
        Tunisia<\/strong><\/td>\n1<\/td>\n0.2<\/td>\nAnavid<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
        Egypt<\/strong><\/td>\n1<\/td>\n0.1<\/td>\nPlastka<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
        Total<\/strong><\/td>\n16<\/td>\n\u2248170<\/td>\n\u2014<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

        Investments by Sector<\/strong><\/h2>\n
        \n
        \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
        Sector<\/strong><\/th>\nDeals<\/strong><\/th>\nTotal Funding (USD Million)<\/strong><\/th>\nKey Companies \/ Deals<\/strong><\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n
        Artificial Intelligence & Operational Tech<\/strong><\/td>\n7<\/td>\n55.1<\/td>\nUnifyApps \u2013 Velents.ai \u2013 HUMAIN \u2013 Qaws.ai \u2013 1001 AI \u2013 Najeeb.ai \u2013 YAL.ai<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
        Fintech<\/strong><\/td>\n4<\/td>\n34.5<\/td>\nTabby \u2013 MidLyr \u2013 Ripple \u2013 UPFRONT<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
        Logistics & Supply Chain<\/strong><\/td>\n3<\/td>\n34<\/td>\nLogexa \u2013 Logidoo \u2013 Quivo<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
        Digital Healthcare<\/strong><\/td>\n2<\/td>\n5<\/td>\nWatad Medical \u2013 Tachyhealth<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
        Education & Deep Tech<\/strong><\/td>\n1<\/td>\n27<\/td>\n\u2014<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
        Gaming<\/strong><\/td>\n1<\/td>\n0.055<\/td>\nEA (Saudi Arabia) acquisition<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
        Creative Content & Media<\/strong><\/td>\n1<\/td>\n0.1<\/td>\nrmz.ai<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
        Enterprise Tech & HR<\/strong><\/td>\n2<\/td>\n3.5<\/td>\nEngagesoft \u2013 Squadio<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
        Smart Infrastructure & Mobility<\/strong><\/td>\n1<\/td>\n26.6<\/td>\nArsan<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
        Total<\/strong><\/td>\n22<\/td>\n\u224855,170.2<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

        Startups across the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region witnessed notable activity in October 2025 in terms of investments and acquisitions, driven by a clear increase in interest in artificial intelligence (AI), fintech, and logistics technologies.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":11,"featured_media":52857,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"post_subtitle":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[8850],"tags":[9986,6983,10074,5178,10068,10195],"class_list":["post-52854","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-venture","tag-1001-ai","tag-brkz","tag-logexa","tag-public-investment-fund-pif","tag-qaws-ai","tag-watad-medical"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/entarabi.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/52854","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/entarabi.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/entarabi.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/entarabi.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/11"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/entarabi.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=52854"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/entarabi.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/52854\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/entarabi.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/52857"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/entarabi.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=52854"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/entarabi.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=52854"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/entarabi.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=52854"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}