The CTO Show Brief: Issue 123

Author

Mehmet Gonullu
June 15, 2025

Welcome to the 123rd  edition of The CTO Show Brief!

This week, African startup ecosystems surge back with over $1B in fresh capital, Egypt leads the pack with landmark deals, and the UAE continues to anchor itself as a regional innovation hub with early-stage wins in regtech and AI logistics. On the global stage, Meta’s $14.3B stake in Scale AI signals the next wave of AI consolidation, while governments step up with sovereign AI strategies and biotech quietly shifts from lab to life. Whether you’re an operator, investor, or founder, this issue is your edge.

Whether you’re one of our 2,646 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

Funding Highlights 💰

  • African VC Market Rebound: African venture capital markets are rebounding in 2025, with increased investor confidence driving a surge in startup funding despite global economic challenges. The growth is attributed to diverse financing models like venture debt and bonds. Read More

  • African Startup Funding Surpasses $1B: African startups raised over $1 billion in 2025, a 40% increase from last year, with Egypt leading at 31% of the total, followed by South Africa, Nigeria, and Kenya. Innovative funding structures, such as bonds and venture debt, highlight a maturing ecosystem. Read More

  • Egypt Leads African Funding Surge: Egypt dominates African startup funding in 2025, securing $330M+ and six of the seven largest deals in May, despite market volatility. Notable deals include Nawy’s $75M proptech round and Tasaheel’s $50M bond issuance. Read More

  • UAE Regtech Qanooni Raises $2M: UAE-based regtech startup Qanooni secured $2 million in a pre-seed round to enhance its AI-driven legal compliance solutions for businesses. The funding will support platform expansion and market penetration in the MENA region. Read More

  • Evoost AI Secures Seed Funding: UAE’s Evoost AI, a platform focused on AI-driven logistics solutions, raised seed funding from Qora71 to accelerate its growth. The investment will bolster its technology and expand operations across the Middle East. Read More

Ecosystem Developments 🌍

  • Morocco Joins Africa’s Top 10 Startup Hubs: Morocco has entered Africa’s top 10 startup ecosystems, driven by increased digital infrastructure and events like GITEX Africa, narrowing the gap with leaders like Nigeria and Kenya. The country’s focus on AI and tech innovation is attracting global attention. Read More

  • Agritech Funding Boosts Nile & South Africa: Agritech startups in the Nile region and South Africa are gaining traction with investments in digital farming solutions, enhancing agricultural efficiency. These funds are driving innovation to address food security and sustainability challenges. Read More

Strategic Investments & Acquisitions 🤝

  • CorroHealth Invests in UAE’s Santechture: CorroHealth’s investment in UAE-based Santechture aims to advance AI-powered revenue cycle management solutions for healthcare providers. The partnership will enhance operational efficiency and scalability in the region’s healthtech sector. Read More

  • Lottery.com Acquires Nook Holdings: Lottery.com acquired a majority stake in UAE’s Nook Holdings, rebranding it as Sports.com Hub to create a sports-focused digital platform. The move aims to capitalize on the growing digital sports market in the MENA region. Read More

  • OpenAI Partners with PIF and MGX: OpenAI has collaborated with Saudi Arabia’s PIF and MGX to explore AI infrastructure investments, aiming to bolster the kingdom’s position as a global AI hub. The partnership signals increasing Middle Eastern influence in AI innovation. Read More

🌍 Global Tech & VC Pulse

The week of June 9, 2025 marked a pivotal moment for global technology, defined by an escalating AI arms race for infrastructure, a bifurcated venture capital market, and governments asserting a more muscular role. This dashboard unpacks the key trends, deals, and strategic shifts shaping the industry's future.

The $14.3B Play for Supremacy

Meta's investment in Scale AI is not a simple acquisition; it's a masterclass in regulatory gamesmanship and strategic maneuvering. The goal: secure elite talent (Scale CEO Alexandr Wang) and a critical piece of the AI supply chain (high-quality data annotation) while avoiding antitrust scrutiny. This move, however, creates a huge conflict of interest for Scale, potentially fragmenting the very market it dominates as competitors seek neutral alternatives.

1️⃣ Meta invests $14.3B for a 49% non-voting stake in Scale AI.

2️⃣ Scale AI's CEO joins Meta to lead a new "superintelligence" lab.

 

The Double-Edged Sword of Sovereign AI

Governments are now key players in the AI race, framing compute power as a matter of national sovereignty. The UK's £1B investment, in partnership with Nvidia, aims to make it an "AI maker, not an AI taker." While this boosts the domestic ecosystem, it creates a long-term fiscal burden and a paradoxical dependency on a fragile, foreign-controlled semiconductor supply chain, undermining the very sovereignty it seeks to achieve.

VC Climate: A Bifurcated Reality

The global venture market is a tale of two worlds. A torrent of capital chases a narrow band of elite AI companies, while the broader market grapples with a severe liquidity crisis, poor fund performance, and a desperate search for exits. Explore the data behind this divided landscape.

Top Funding Rounds This Week

The concentration of capital in AI-related ventures is stark. The chart below visualizes the massive scale of the Meta-Scale deal relative to other large, but traditional, venture rounds, highlighting the market's bifurcated nature.

The Innovation Horizon

Beyond the market headlines, fundamental progress in deep tech continues unabated. Breakthroughs in quantum computing and biotechnology are pushing boundaries, moving from pure science to pragmatic engineering and shaping the industries of tomorrow.

Quantum's Engineering Phase

The quantum industry is maturing, shifting focus from qubit counts to quality, error correction, and hybrid classical-quantum systems. It's no longer just science; it's a tangible engineering challenge.

·       IBM targeting 4,000+ qubits

·       Google & Quantinuum advance error correction

·       Amazon, Microsoft & IonQ roll out hybrid platforms

BioTech's New Modalities

The convergence of biology, AI, and engineering is yielding novel discoveries and platforms. A key development is using engineered microbes as "living drugs" to treat genetic diseases.

·       Sea cucumber molecules show anti-cancer potential

·       Azitra trials engineered bacteria to treat rare skin disorders

·       AI accelerates drug discovery across the value chain

 

 🎙️Episodes Recap:

In this episode, Mehmet sits down with Jan van Schuppen , a seasoned sales entrepreneur and founder of Ideas in Spades, who has led global B2B sales teams for over 30 years. They explore the biggest myths in go-to-market (GTM) strategy, the traps of founder-led content, how to balance automation with authenticity, and why selling before building is often the smartest startup move. 

In this episode of The CTO Show with Mehmet, we’re joined by John Carse , Field CISO at SquareX, to explore a fast-emerging shift in cybersecurity: the browser as the new endpoint. John shares why traditional tools like EDR and CASB are no longer sufficient, how modern threats are bypassing enterprise defenses, and what CISOs need to prioritize in a SaaS-first, GenAI-driven world.

In this episode, Mehmet Gonullu sits down with Nelson Nigel, the founder of Kidmoto, a ride-hailing service designed specifically for families traveling with young children. From driving a yellow cab in New York to building a tech-enabled transportation service operating in 64+ cities, Nelson shares how he bootstrapped his company past $1M in revenue—without external funding, without a co-founder, and without chasing VC hype.

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