Prince Khaled bin Alwaleed invests in Swiss AI safety firm Umanitek, joins advisory board
Move marks one of the first major GCC investments in AI accountability infrastructure as Gulf states accelerate efforts to become global AI hubs.
Funding
Vennre raises $9.6M Pre-Series A to expand private market access in MENA
MENA-focused wealth platform Vennre secures hybrid equity-debt funding round co-led by Vision Ventures and anb seed Fund, with participation from regional and global investors.
Marissa Mayer Launches Dazzle, Raises $8M to Build Next-Gen AI Personal Assistants
Marissa Mayer raises $8M for Dazzle, a new AI personal assistant startup, aiming to learn from past failures and target consumer AI growth.
Rotoris watch startup scores $3 Mn seed funding from Nikhil Kamath and Vivek Oberoi
The seed round was led by Zerodha co-founder Nikhil Kamath and actor-entrepreneur Vivek Anand Oberoi, with participation from comedian Tanmay Bhat, Venture Catalysts, 100 Unicorns, and over 30 startup founders.
Algeria’s Traveltech Startup VOLZ Raises $5 Million in Landmark Funding Round
The funding round was backed by a consortium of private investors led by Tell Group, with participation from Groupe GIBA - Babahoum Industrial Group, marking the first exit for the Algerian Startup Fund.
Spinny Plans $160 Million Raise to Acquire GoMechanic, Expand Used-Car Services
Spinny is raising $160–165M to acquire GoMechanic, integrating full-service vehicle maintenance to strengthen its footprint in India’s used-car market.
Boston-based Pryzm raises $12.2 Mn for to help small businesses win federal contracts
The seed funding round was led by Andreessen Horowitz. Pryzm offer and AI-backed platform to help startups and small businesses track federal opportunities, funding priorities, and stakeholders, leveling the playing field in government procurement.
Disney to invest $1 billion in OpenAI, licenses 200+ characters for Sora and ChatGPT
Disney to invest $1 billion in OpenAI and license 200+ characters to OpenAI’s Sora and ChatGPT Images under a three‑year deal that excludes talent likenesses and voices.
Fal raises $140 Mn from Sequoia and Nvidia, hits $4.5 Bn Valuation
Fal has secured $140 million in a Sequoia-led round that includes Nvidia’s Nventures, tripling its valuation to $4.5 billion. CEO Burkay Gur says enterprises are rapidly adopting its image, video, and audio AI tools.
New York’s Oboe Raises $16 Mn to Transform Personal Learning with AI
Oboe has raised $16 million in Series A funding led by a16z to expand its AI-driven course generation platform, adding new product features, pricing tiers and plans for mobile and multilingual expansion.
London’s Runware lands $50 Mn to push its unified API for all generative AI models
Runware aims to expand its unified API for generative image, video and audio applications. The company’s Sonic Inference Engine supports more than 400,000 models, giving developers faster and more reliable access to AI media generation.
AI startup Harness scores $240 Mn Series E funding, hits $5.5 Bn valuation
The fresh Series E round includes a $200 million primary investment led by Goldman Sachs and a planned $40 million tender offer with participation from IVP, Menlo Ventures, and Unusual Ventures.