The CTO Show Brief: Issue 122

Author

Mehmet Gonullu
June 08, 2025

Welcome to the 122nd  edition of The CTO Show Brief!

This week, MEA’s startup ecosystem kept the momentum going—$289M raised in May, new funds launched, and fresh capital flowing across agritech, fintech, and logistics. From Tunisia’s Kumulus Water to Qatar’s Shipbee and Egypt’s record-breaking rounds, signs of resilience and ambition are everywhere. Meanwhile, on the global front, AI isn’t just hot—it’s rewriting the playbook. $1B into Grammarly, new products from Google and Perplexity, and M&A waves led by Salesforce and Motorola. Buckle up: the energy is real, and the stakes are rising.

Whether you’re one of our 2,639 subscribers or a first-time reader—grab your coffee, and let’s dive into what’s shaping tech and venture this week! 

MEA Tech Momentum

🌱 Agritech

  • GROWiT Secures $3 Million in Series A Funding Agritech startup GROWiT India raised $3 million in a Series A round led by GVFL, with participation from Veloce Opportunities Fund and others, to enhance protective farming solutions and expand into markets like Africa. Read More

💰 Venture Capital & Funding

  • MENA Startups Raise $289 Million in May 2025 MENA startups secured $289 million across 44 deals in May 2025, with Egypt leading the charge, driven by Nawy’s $75 million round and a 25% increase from April. Read More

  • Arab Fund Invests in Shorooq’s Nahda Fund II The Arab Fund for Economic and Social Development’s Badir Fund invested in Shorooq Partners’ Nahda Fund II to boost SME credit access across MENA, supporting growth-stage companies like Abhi and The Box. Read More

  • Khwarizmi Ventures Targets $120M Fund for MENA Startups Saudi-based Khwarizmi Ventures is raising up to $120 million for its second fund, focusing on seed to Series A investments to support early-stage MENA startups, with a target close by year-end 2025. Read More

  • Stride Ventures Scales GCC with Focus on Saudi Arabia Stride Ventures is expanding its presence in the GCC, particularly Saudi Arabia, emphasizing non-dilutive capital to help founders scale responsibly amid a growing investor appetite. Read More

  • Qatar’s Shipbee Secures $235,000 Pre-Seed Round Qatar-based Shipbee raised $235,000 in a pre-seed round led by GrowthX to enhance its logistics solutions, marking a step toward strengthening Qatar’s startup ecosystem. Read More

  • Tunisia’s Kumulus Water Closes $3.5 Million Seed Round Kumulus Water, a Tunisian startup, secured $3.5 million in a seed round to advance its water technology solutions, contributing to sustainable innovation in the region. Read More

💸 Fintech

  • dLocal Nears $150 Million Deal for Aza in Africa Push Fintech firm dLocal is reportedly close to a $150 million acquisition of Aza to expand its payment solutions across Africa, strengthening its regional footprint. Read More

  • PalmPay’s Fundraising Fuels Expansion in Africa and Asia Fintech startup PalmPay is raising funds to expand its financial services across Africa and Asia, leveraging its mobile payment platform to drive financial inclusion. Read More 

🌍 Global Tech & VC Pulse

The week of June 2 was a masterclass in AI velocity, global tech realignment, and investor conviction. Billion-dollar bets, cross-border regulation chatter, and deep-tech collaborations dominated headlines—while Apple and Google raced to reimagine user experiences, and Meta went nuclear (literally) to power its AI.

🧠 AI Everywhere: Product, Capital, and Concerns

·       Google quietly launched an app to run AI models on-device—privacy-first AI is heating up.

·       Perplexity is launching a browser codenamed Comet to do tasks, not just search. Think: “AI as the OS.”

·       Grammarly raised $1B, Neuralink secured $600M—VCs remain wildly bullish on AI/brain convergence.

·       Barclays dipped its toe with a $100K license—corporates still warming up.

🧩 M&A Highlights

·       Salesforce acquires Informatica for $8B to fuel agentic AI.

·       Motorola grabs Silvus ($4.4B) for secure comms in hostile environments.

·       Japan’s NTT enters fintech with a $2.9B acquisition—telcos diversifying hard.

🚀Momentum in Emerging Tech

This radar chart illustrates the relative momentum across three key emerging frontiers, based on this week's key events like the launch of the Roadrunner Venture Consortium (Deep Tech), IBM's workshops (Quantum), and Voyager's IPO (Space Tech).

 

🔥 LP Watch / Fund Moves

·       Mitsubishi backs a deep tech fund-of-funds (US, EU, Israel focus).

·       Roadrunner Consortium launched with Khosla, Lux, and Playground to commercialize national lab tech.

⚖️ Regulation Rising

·       “More regulated than OpenAI?” Not yet. But Spain’s €5M fund for ethical AI and U.S. merger divestitures (Synopsys, Keysight) suggest the tide is turning.

·       From SF to Madrid, regulators are signaling that ethics isn’t just a panel topic anymore—it’s policy in motion. 

🎙️Episodes Recap:

In this episode of The CTO Show with Mehmet , we dive deep into what it really takes to implement AI that works —not just experiments, but systems that scale. Joining us is Matt Leta  , founder & CEO of Future Works, an AI-native company built alongside generative AI as his co-founder.

In this episode of The CTO Show with Mehmet , we dive into the transformation of the global music industry with Jeremy Sirota , CEO of Merlin , the world’s leading digital licensing partner for independent music labels. Jeremy unpacks how Merlin is leveling the playing field for indie artists, leveraging tech and AI to streamline music licensing, and helping startups access curated music legally and efficiently.

In this episode of The CTO Show with Mehmet , we’re joined by Ali Hafizji , founder of the product development agency Wednesday , for a candid look into one of the most overlooked phases in startup growth: the dangerous gap between MVP and Product-Market Fit (PMF). 

 

Let’s Stay Connected

🎙️ Have a unique POV on tech or venture? I’m always looking to feature sharp minds on The CTO Show — founders, operators, investors, or ecosystem builders.

 🤝 Exploring new markets or strategies? I’m open to conversations around go-to-market, venture insights, and cross-border growth — especially between MEA and global hubs.

📩 Enjoyed this brief? Forward it to someone thinking deeply about where innovation, capital, and technology intersect.

Thanks for reading — and for being part of this growing, global-minded network.

 

— Mehmet