The CTO Show Brief: Issue 125

Author

Mehmet Gonullu
June 29, 2025

Welcome to the 125th  edition of The CTO Show Brief!

This week’s edition captures the dual pulse of the startup world — one local, one global.

In the MEA region, fintech and venture capital lead the charge, with standout moves like Valu’s EGX debut backed by Amazon, MFS Africa’s expanded war chest, and fresh VC activity from Iraq to Egypt. Across verticals, from logistics to proptech and AI healthcare, the region’s innovation engine shows no signs of slowing down.

Meanwhile, on the global stage, the spotlight swings between unprecedented capital surges into AI and a rising wave of regulatory pressure. From billion-dollar seed rounds to sector-specific AI unicorns and geopolitical guardrails, the contrast is striking — and instructive.

As MEA startups scale and global forces shift, founders, investors, and operators alike are navigating a new era defined by vertical dominance, GTM evolution, and policy complexity.

Whether you’re one of our 2,659 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

Fintech

  • Valu Begins Trading on EGX with Amazon as Investor: Egyptian fintech Valu started trading on the Egyptian Exchange (EGX) through an in-kind dividend distribution, with Amazon acquiring a 3.95% stake at EGP 6.041 per share, while Valu achieved 66.5% issuance growth in 2024, securing a 25% market share in Egypt’s consumer finance sector. Read More

  • MFS Africa Extends Series C to $200M: MFS Africa, a pan-African payments gateway, raised an additional $100M in equity and debt, totaling $200M for its Series C, to accelerate expansion across Africa and into Asia via a joint venture with LUN Partners. Read More

  • Related Secures $8M Investment from Equivator: UAE-based Related, a fintech platform, secured $8M from Equivator to enhance its financial services offerings, aiming to expand its regional presence. Read More

Venture Capital

  • Stryde Acquires Qora71, Launches Stryde71: UAE-based Stryde acquired Qora71, rebranding it as Stryde71, to expand venture capital access for retail and qualified investors, leveraging Qora71’s syndicate model to facilitate global startup investments. Read More

  • Netaj Launches Nawat Iraq VC Studio: Iraq-based Netaj launched Nawat, a venture capital studio, to support high-potential startups with hands-on resources and funding over a six-month program. Read More

  • Aria Ventures Launches $1M Deeptech Fund in Egypt: Aria Ventures, an Egypt-based venture studio, launched a $1M fund to support deeptech startups, aiming to bolster innovation in Egypt’s tech ecosystem. Read More

  • Endeavor Catalyst Targets $300M for MENA Startups: Endeavor Catalyst plans to raise $300M to invest in high-growth startups across MENA, focusing on scaling innovative businesses in the region. Read More

  • Seychelles Leads African Blockchain Funding: Seychelles is emerging as a hub for blockchain funding in Africa, with startups attracting significant investments amid evolving market trends. Read More

Logistics and Transportation

  • STV Backs Morni with New NICE Fund: Saudi-based automotive services platform Morni received investment from STV’s newly launched $100M NICE Fund to enhance its regional automotive service offerings. Read More

  • Nowlun Raises $600K to Close $2.3M Seed Round: UAE-based freight logistics startup Nowlun raised an additional $600K, closing its $2.3M seed round to advance AI-driven logistics solutions in the MENA region. Read More

Healthcare

  • Kera Secures $10M for AI-Driven Healthcare in West Africa: Nigerian startup Kera raised $10M to expand AI-powered healthcare access, focusing on improving medical service delivery in West Africa. Read More

  • MEVP Joins AppliedAI Series A Round: Middle East Venture Partners (MEVP) participated in AppliedAI’s Series A round, supporting the UAE-based startup’s mission to advance AI-driven healthcare solutions. Read More

Proptech

  • RoomzRent Raises Pre-Seed Round Led by Qora71: UAE-based proptech startup RoomzRent secured a pre-seed funding round led by Qora71 to enhance its digital rental platform for the MENA market. Read More

HR Tech

  • PaidHR Secures $1.8M for Africa’s Future of Work: Nigerian startup PaidHR raised $1.8M to develop HR solutions, aiming to transform workforce management across Africa. Read More

Sustainability

  • 212 Next Invests in French Startup Everdye: Turkish VC firm 212 Next invested in Everdye, a French startup focused on sustainable textile dyeing, to support eco-friendly innovations in the global fashion industry. Read More

🌍 Global Tech & VC Pulse

This week in technology was defined by a powerful paradox: a historic gold rush into Artificial Intelligence, creating record-breaking valuations and accelerating innovation, set against a rapidly intensifying global regulatory crackdown. This dashboard explores these two opposing forces, which are actively shaping the future of the industry.

 

💰 The AI Capital Supernova

An unprecedented flood of capital into AI is reshaping the industry, funding foundational model development at a massive scale and fueling an arms race among tech giants.

  • Record Seed Round: Thinking Machines Lab raised a market-redefining $2B.

  • Vertical AI Unicorns: Abridge (Health) & Harvey (Legal) hit $5B+ valuations.

  • Product Offensive: Incumbents released a torrent of new AI features and models.

⚖️ The Regulatory Gauntlet

Governments worldwide are tightening the screws on Big Tech and AI, creating a fragmented and complex compliance landscape that presents a major strategic challenge.

  • EU Gets Tough: The DMA is forcing platform changes at Apple and Meta.

  • US Legal Battles: Key rulings on AI "fair use" as state-level regulation expands.

  • Geopolitical Headwinds: US restricts biotech data sharing with China.

Vertical AI Dominance

Beyond foundational models, the market is heavily rewarding companies that apply AI to solve high-value problems in specific industries. Abridge and Harvey exemplify this trend.

-     Abridge (Healthcare AI) raised $300M at a $5.3B valuation. Its AI-powered medical scribe is used in over 150 U.S. health systems.

-     Harvey (Legal AI) raised $300M at a $5.0B valuation. Its AI assistant automates legal tasks for 337 firms globally.

The Regulatory Battleground

While capital flows freely, regulatory pressure is intensifying globally. This section explores the diverging policy approaches in the EU and the US, a critical source of complexity and risk for all technology companies.

Ventures Capital Pulse

🇺🇸 US: Frontier AI Boom

Dominated by hyper-capitalized, high-risk "super-seed" rounds for foundational model builders.

🇪🇺 Europe: Diversified & Specialized

Focus on a balanced portfolio of funds targeting specific sectors like fintech, defense, and energy transition.

🇸🇬 Southeast Asia: Flight to Quality

Investors are pulling back from early-stage deals and concentrating capital in established, late-stage companies with clear paths to profitability, with Singapore capturing 92% of funding.

Sector Deep Dives

Beyond the main themes, significant developments are happening within specific technology verticals. This section provides a spotlight on key movements in Life Sciences, the foundational Hardware & Infrastructure powering the AI boom, and the latest in Consumer Tech.

🧬 Life Sciences & Medtech

The life sciences sector is experiencing a boom in AI-driven investment, but it's colliding with new geopolitical risks. Medtech VC funding is at its highest since 2022, but a new FDA rule halting the export of US patient cells to China for genetic engineering has introduced a major new barrier to global R&D collaboration.

⚙️ Infrastructure & Hardware

The "picks and shovels" of the AI revolution are attracting massive investment. Nvidia remains the king, now the world's most valuable company. The demand for compute is fueling a data center boom, highlighted by a $5.13B AI data center in South Korea. At the consumer level, Microsoft's "Copilot+" PCs launched, bringing dedicated AI silicon to personal computers.

📱 Consumer Tech & Gaming

The gaming market is transforming. Nintendo's Switch 2 launched with a powerful new Nvidia chip. In a pragmatic move, Microsoft is partnering with Meta on an Xbox-branded Quest VR headset to stream games, rather than building its own hardware. The smart eyewear battle also heated up with new releases from Meta/Oakley and upcoming AR glasses from Viture using next-gen Sony displays.

Concluding Analysis & Outlook

The market is at a pivotal inflection point, caught between the forces of hyper-innovation and regulatory control. The cost to compete in foundational AI is now astronomical, concentrating power. At the same time, the most durable value may lie in vertical AI solutions with clear ROI. Navigating the fragmenting global regulatory landscape is now a primary strategic imperative for all tech leaders.

🎙️Episodes Recap:

In this episode of The CTO Show with Mehmet, we sit down with Cheryl Cunningham , CEO of Huro AI, to explore how agentic AI is reshaping entrepreneurship as we know it. From her early days in the food industry to building a quantum-informed AI company, Cheryl shares the journey behind Huro’s mission: enabling solopreneurs and SMBs to go from vision to execution with a single personalized operating system.

In this episode, host Mehmet Gonullu sits down with Mohamed (Mo) Ahmed, Ph.D. , an engineer-turned-founder and author of The Inside-Out Entrepreneur. Together, they unpack the mental, emotional, and strategic conditioning required for engineers to become successful startup founders. From navigating early-stage chaos to managing the emotional rollercoaster of startup life, Mohamed offers frameworks, stories, and tools that every founder needs to hear. 

In this episode of The CTO Show with Mehmet, Dr. Andrey Kunov — serial entrepreneur, founder of Silicon Valley Innovation Center, and AI advisor — joins us from the heart of Silicon Valley to dissect what truly makes the Valley unbeatable. We explore why other ecosystems struggle to replicate it, what founders in emerging markets should focus on instead, and how AI is reshaping the rules of startup creation and capital.

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