The CTO Show Brief: Issue 131

Welcome to Issue 131  of The CTO Show Brief!

This week’s issue captures the MEA startup scene in full stride — from record-breaking African funding rounds to fresh capital fueling MENA’s AI, fintech, and logistics innovators. While founders across the region double down on solving local challenges with global ambition, the broader tech world is locked in an AI-driven infrastructure race, reshaping both venture flows and competitive dynamics. Whether you’re tracking capital shifts, sector breakthroughs, or the next wave of market-defining startups, this week’s highlights are a snapshot of a rapidly accelerating ecosystem.

Whether you’re one of our 2,692 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

MENA Startups and Funding

Wuilt (Egypt): Wuilt, a Cairo-based ecommerce enablement platform founded in 2019 by Ahmed Rostom and Mahmoud Metwaly, raised $2 million in funding led by Flat6Labs and MTF VC, with additional participation from Hub71, JIMCO, Purity Tech, and strategic angel investors, to support its free platform for Egyptian merchants and planned expansion into the UAE, GCC countries, and Turkey. The startup, which pivoted to a no-subscription-fee model in April 2025 to focus on merchant acquisition and now monetizes through value-added services, aims to become infrastructure for small businesses and social sellers in emerging markets, starting with the MENA region. Read More

Boxy (Iraq): Boxy, an Iraq-based logistics aggregator co-founded in 2024 by Ahmed Baqer and Mehrshad Pezeshk, has emerged from stealth with a $1.5 million pre-seed investment from EQIQ to streamline Iraq’s fragmented last-mile delivery sector using an AI-powered platform. This funding is part of EQIQ’s strategy to scale Iraq’s digital infrastructure, addressing key market gaps in logistics, which is crucial for the growth of e-commerce in emerging markets like Iraq. Read More

Suplyd (Egypt): Suplyd, a Cairo-based digital procurement platform founded in 2022, raised $2 million in a pre-Series A funding round led by 4DX Ventures, Camel Ventures, and Plus VC, with participation from Seedstars and existing investors, to expand its operations and enhance its platform for restaurant supply chains in Egypt. The startup, which digitizes procurement processes for the HORECA sector and serves over 5,000 restaurants with access to more than 1,000 products, is positioned to address inefficiencies in Egypt’s multi-billion-dollar supply chain, making it relevant for emerging markets tech in the MEA region.

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Salasa (Saudi Arabia): Salasa, a Riyadh-based e-commerce fulfillment platform founded in 2017, raised $30 million in a Series B funding round led by Artal Capital, bringing its total capital raised to nearly $40 million, to expand its operations across the GCC. The funding will enhance its AI-driven logistics, including fulfillment centers, darkstores, and bonded zones, supporting its role as a key player in the e-commerce logistics sector in emerging markets like Saudi Arabia and the broader Middle East. Read More

RIFD (Saudi Arabia): RIFD, a Saudi Arabia-based Shariah-compliant SME receivables securitisation platform founded in 2024, secured a strategic investment from global VC firm Antler to build the country's first institutional-grade infrastructure for receivables securitisation, reducing SME financing costs and targeting expansion across the MENA region. This investment supports RIFD’s mission to unlock supply chain liquidity for SMEs while offering risk-adjusted returns to investors, aligning with the growing SME credit market in Saudi Arabia and enhancing financial transformation in emerging markets. Read More

Mistral AI (with UAE involvement): French AI startup Mistral is in discussions with venture capital firms and Abu Dhabi's MGX to raise $1 billion at a $10 billion valuation, following a previous Series B funding round of 600 million euros that valued the company at 5.8 billion euros. The funding aims to support the commercial rollout of its Le Chat chatbot and the development of large language models, positioning Mistral as Europe's best-placed AI company to compete with Silicon Valley leaders, particularly relevant for emerging tech markets in the MEA region due to MGX's involvement. Read More

Alaan (UAE/Saudi Arabia): Alaan, a UAE-based fintech platform focused on spend management, raised $48 million in an oversubscribed Series A funding round led by Peak XV Partners, aiming to expand in Saudi Arabia and enhance its AI-powered finance automation tools, which are particularly relevant for MENA finance teams. The funding will support its growth in emerging markets like Saudi Arabia, where it has already doubled transaction volumes month-over-month for six consecutive months since launching earlier this year. Read More

Deep.SA (Saudi Arabia): Deep.SA, a Saudi AI startup, has raised $1.2 million in a pre-seed funding round led by Tam Development and Raed Ventures, aiming to enhance its AI capabilities and expand operations in Saudi Arabia. This funding is relevant to the MEA tech scene, particularly in supporting Saudi Arabia's Vision 2030 by developing AI solutions tailored for local businesses. Read More

Flat6Labs (MENA): Flat6Labs, a leading startup accelerator in the Middle East, has restructured under the new holding company F6 Group and launched F6 Ventures, a dedicated seed-stage investment firm managing over $90 million in assets, focusing on pre-seed and seed stages across the Middle East and Africa. This restructuring aims to enhance support for early-stage startups in emerging markets by separating accelerator programs from investment operations, with F6 Ventures planning to expand to $200 million in assets and invest in over 200 companies within five years. Read More

African Startups and Funding

Altera Biosciences (South Africa): Altera Biosciences, Africa's first cell and gene therapy startup, has raised R29 million in a landmark pre-seed funding round led by OneBio Venture Studio and E Squared Investments, marking a significant milestone for South Africa's biotech industry. The company, founded by Alexandra Miszewski and Professor Michael Pepper, aims to develop a universal donor cell platform using gene silencing technology to address critical healthcare challenges like organ transplantation and cancer therapies, with a focus on leveraging Africa's genetic diversity for globally applicable solutions. Read More

NBA Africa Triple-Double Accelerator: NBA Africa has launched the second edition of its Triple-Double Accelerator, in partnership with ALX Ventures and ServiceNow, to support early-stage startups in Africa with financial assistance and mentorship, focusing on technology-driven solutions in sports and creative industries, with applications open until August 29, 2025, via https://TripleDoubleAccelerator.NBA.com. The program, which previously drew over 700 applicants and selected winners like Festival Coins and Salubata from Nigeria, HustleSasa from Kenya, and UBR VR from Egypt, will culminate in a Demo Day in December where five winning startups will receive funding and continued support, highlighting its relevance to emerging markets tech in Africa. Read More

TurnStay (South Africa): South African fintech startup TurnStay raised over R34m in a seed funding round led by First Circle Capital, with participation from TLCom Capital, Enza Capital, Incisive Ventures, CVVC, and Equitable Ventures, to expand its cross-border payments platform for the travel and tourism industry across Africa. The funding will help TurnStay tackle payment inefficiencies in the travel sector, particularly in emerging markets, by reducing transaction fees by up to 70% and improving booking conversion rates using a merchant-of-record model and stablecoin settlement, aiming to support the growth of African travel businesses in a sector that generates over R1.8tn annually and supports more than six million jobs. Read More

Flood (South Africa): South African startup Flood has raised $2.5 million in seed funding to expand its "SuperApp-as-a-Service" platform, which digitizes offline retail in emerging markets by offering a no-code, API-based commerce solution to telcos, banks, and enterprises. The funding will support expansion into new markets and partnerships, building on its presence in South Africa, India, and the Maldives, and follows a previous $1 million raise in July 2024. Read More

Filmmakers Mart (Nigeria/Africa): Filmmakers Mart, a Nigeria-based digital platform connecting filmmakers with production services, has secured investment from the International Finance Corporation (IFC) and Sony Innovation Fund Africa to scale African film production, marking IFC’s first investment in Africa’s audiovisual sector. The funding will help FMM, already operating in Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya, Morocco, and South Africa, expand into new markets, enhance post-production tools, and train more creators, aiming to become a key player in the creative industries of emerging markets. Read More

Solarise Africa (South Africa/Africa): Solarise Africa, a renewable energy financing firm focused on decentralised energy solutions for SMEs in Africa, has secured an additional R 60 million (approximately USD 3.4 million) from Mergence Investment Managers, following a previous R 160 million investment, to enhance its commercial and industrial renewable energy sector, particularly in South Africa. This funding, structured as a mezzanine facility through preference shares, aims to accelerate the deployment of advanced solar PV and hybrid energy systems, reflecting Solarise Africa's expansion into markets like Kenya, Rwanda, Uganda, and Zambia. Read More

Rihanna's Support for African Climate Founders (Africa): AeroFarms, a vertical farming company, raised equity to fund pre-construction activities for its second farm and refinanced debt to support ongoing operations in Danville, Virginia. TerraBlaster, a soil health analytics startup, closed an oversubscribed $4 million pre-seed round, while Rihanna’s Clara Lionel Foundation backed women climate founders in Africa through Gather Ventures, highlighting support for female-led climate initiatives in emerging markets. Read More

beatBread (Global, with African relevance): Music funding platform beatBread, launched in 2020, raised $124 million in a mix of credit and equity from investors including Citi, Deciens Capital, Mucker Capital, and Advantage Capital to expand its operations and enhance its technology-driven financing for artists, songwriters, and independent labels across six continents, including Africa. The funding will support growth in sales, marketing, and product development, while its proprietary platform offers financial advances based on streaming income, empowering independent artists in emerging markets with flexible financing options and full ownership retention.

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Other Emerging Markets

Uzum (Uzbekistan): Uzum, a Uzbekistan-based technology company founded in 2022, has raised nearly $70 million in equity financing led by Tencent and VR Capital, bringing its valuation to approximately $1.5 billion and marking it as the country's first tech unicorn after a previous $114 million raise. This funding will support the expansion of its fintech offerings, including digital lending and deposit products, which is significant for the growth of tech in emerging markets like Uzbekistan in the MEA region. Read More

Broader MEA Reports

African Startups Funding in July: In July 2025, African start-ups raised $550 million, the highest monthly figure in over two years, with 61 start-ups securing funding of at least $100,000, including the first such deal in Libya, highlighting the growing tech ecosystem in emerging markets. The funding was predominantly debt-based, with 89% of the total ($493 million) coming from debt, led by significant deals in Kenya's energy sector, such as d.light's $300 million and Sun King's $156 million facilities, underscoring the reliance on debt for scaling in the MEA region. Read More

 🌍 Global Tech & VC Pulse

The global technology landscape this week was defined by an accelerating arms race in Artificial Intelligence, fought not with algorithms alone but with massive capital deployments into physical infrastructure. The dual-use nature of AI in cybersecurity moved from theoretical risk to operational reality, fueling both sophisticated new attacks and a wave of defensive consolidation. Venture capital continues to concentrate in a few dominant, late-stage AI players, creating a bifurcated market. This dynamic is unfolding against a backdrop of assertive industrial policy, particularly in the United States, where AI development is being framed as a national security imperative.

The AI Imperative: From Models to Vertical Dominance

This week's developments reveal an AI sector maturing at an unprecedented pace. The narrative has expanded beyond foundational model capabilities to a fierce, capital-intensive battle for the underlying infrastructure. Simultaneously, AI is moving from a general-purpose technology into vertically integrated tools, creating tangible products and business models while generating significant societal and ethical friction.

The Infrastructure Battleground

The AI race is now a full-stack war over physical infrastructure. Access to computational power is the key determinant of leadership. OpenAI's $8.3B round (at a $300B valuation) and Mistral's quest for nearly $1B for a data center project exemplify this capital-intensive reality. This has created a secondary super-cycle for the "picks and shovels": specialized semiconductors, data center real estate, and power management systems.

AI's March into the Enterprise

AI is rapidly transitioning into vertically-integrated tools. Examples include Xiaomi's next-gen voice model for its EVs and smart homes, and Outreach's "agentic AI" for automating sales workflows. In legal tech, Aderant acquired HerculesAI's assets to create a fully automated "work-to-cash" solution. These moves show incumbents acquiring AI to defend market share and enhance value.

Cybersecurity: The AI-Powered Double-Edged Sword

The cybersecurity landscape is in a seismic shift, driven by the dual-use nature of AI. It is now the central theater of conflict, simultaneously empowering both attackers and defenders in a rapidly escalating arms race. This section explores the two sides of this conflict.

Offensive AI: The New Threat Vector

Threat actors are aggressively weaponizing AI to create more sophisticated and evasive attacks. Reports from CrowdStrike and Trend Micro detail the use of GenAI to automate social engineering, craft deepfake job interviews, and power adaptive DDoS attacks. Malicious chatbots like WormGPT are democratizing advanced attack capabilities.

Defensive AI: The Industry's Response

The industry is racing to deploy AI-powered defenses. A universal AI detector with 98% accuracy against deepfakes was announced. Google is using AI agents to proactively hunt for vulnerabilities. The market is consolidating around AI-native platforms, exemplified by Palo Alto Networks' planned $25B acquisition of CyberArk to create a more comprehensive defense posture.

Venture Capital & Exit Environment

The venture and M&A landscape is being reshaped by the AI boom. Capital is concentrating in a few late-stage leaders, while the M&A market rebounds with strategic, AI-focused acquisitions. A pair of successful deep-tech IPOs offers a glimmer of hope for a market starved of liquidity.

Key Venture Funding Rounds (Week of Aug 4, 2025)

This chart visualizes the major funding rounds of the week. The data reveals a clear focus on AI applications across various sectors, from Legal Tech to BioTech and core infrastructure. Hover over the bars for more details.

IPO Market Reawakens

After a long dormancy, the IPO market showed strong signs of life, driven by successful deep-tech debuts. This suggests public investors are willing to back high-growth, non-profitable companies with defensible tech moats.

Firefly Aerospace (FLY)

Raised $868M at a $7.2B market cap. Strong debut for the commercial space sector.

Heartflow (HTFL)

Raised $317M at a $1.7B valuation. Shares surged 51% on day one.

🎙️Episodes Recap:

#502 How Data Is Reshaping Venture Capital: AlphaSemantic’s Vision with Cyril Shtabtsovsky

In this episode of The CTO Show with Mehmet, we dive deep into the future of venture capital with Cyril Shtabtsovsky , founder of AlphaSemantic and a practicing VC. Cyril shares how his data-driven platform helps venture firms source, score, and connect with high-potential startups — using proprietary algorithms and machine learning to augment traditional VC workflows.

#503 From Data to Differentiation: Ron Green on Building Real AI in the Enterprise

In this episode of The CTO Show with Mehmet, we dive deep with Ron Green, CTO of Kungfu.ai, a veteran AI engineer and serial entrepreneur who’s built 9 startups and deployed 120+ enterprise-grade AI systems. Ron shares how to go beyond AI hype, build custom AI that works, and unlock real ROI using the data you already have.

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

— Mehmet