INFOGRAPHIC: Startup Funding in Africa and the Middle East — Week 20, 2025
Here are the venture funding activities we tracked in the Middle East and African region this week – including AI21 Labs, Classiq, Nawy, WakeCap, AqlanX, Kilow, and Career 180.
This week, startups across the Middle East and Africa raised a total of $525 million, inching closer to the $571 million in disclosed funding recorded throughout April. If nothing else, it's a strong signal that the region’s startup ecosystem is picking up momentum, and fast.
Leading the charge is Tel Aviv-based AI21 Labs, which pulled in a massive $300 million in its Series D round. Backed by tech giants like Google and Nvidia, this raise brings AI21’s total funding to $636 million. The company is pushing hard to advance enterprise-grade generative AI, and this latest round only fuels that ambition.
Right behind them is another Tel Aviv player: Classiq, a quantum software startup that just closed $110 million in Series C funding — the largest ever for a company in this space. The round was led by Entrée Capital, with support from Norwest, NightDragon, and others. With total funding now at $173 million, Classiq plans to scale aggressively across go-to-market, customer success, and R&D.
In Egypt, Nawy, a fast-growing proptech startup, secured $52 million in Series A equity led by Partech, alongside e& Capital, March Capital, VKAV, and more. On top of that, it raised $23 million in debt from major Egyptian banks to supercharge its mortgage offering, Nawy Now.
Meanwhile, Career 180, an Egyptian edtech startup, announced a fresh six-figure investment from Den VC. The funds will help expand into Oman, Malta, and Saudi Arabia, localize its learning content in Arabic, and scale its LMS platform across the region.
Over in Saudi Arabia, construction tech startup WakeCap secured a $28 million Series A round at the Saudi-US Investment Forum. The funding will go toward expanding its AI-driven tools that boost safety and productivity on construction sites.
Also from Saudi, healthtech startup Kilow raised $2.5 million in seed funding led by Sanabil Venture Studio, in collaboration with Stryber. The focus? Personalized, tech-powered weight management.
AqlanX, an AI startup, locked in a $10 million investment from Lakeba Group via its venture arm DoxAI. The deal was facilitated through the UAE’s NextGen FDI initiative, aimed at localizing enterprise AI solutions.
All in all, this week’s funding activity is a reflection of how the Middle East and Africa are carving out serious space on the global startup map. From deep tech in Tel Aviv to proptech in Cairo and AI innovation in the Gulf, the momentum is real. And if this pace keeps up, the second half of 2025 could be a breakout moment for the region.
