Startups across Africa and the Middle East raised a combined $319.7 million this week, based on disclosed funding rounds tracked by Techloy, with most of the money landing in AI, cybersecurity and fintech. A handful of larger Series A and growth rounds out of Israel accounted for the bulk of the week’s activity.
The Week’s Largest Startup Funding Rounds
Here are the biggest disclosed startup funding rounds across Africa, the Middle East and Israel this week.
/1. Rylo, $85 million, AI accessibility, Israel
Rylo, the company formerly known as Nagish, builds AI tools that let deaf and hard-of-hearing people make phone calls and follow conversations in real time, turning speech into text and text back into speech. The round, led by General Catalyst and Canaan, values the company at around $500 million and will fund a push into sign language translation and new markets.
/2. PointFive, $60 million, Cloud and AI efficiency, Israel
PointFive helps large companies find and cut wasted spending across their cloud systems and AI workloads, then hands the fixes straight to the engineers responsible. Accel led the Series B, joined by Salesforce Ventures and Index Ventures, and the money will go toward product work and growth in the United States.
/3. Blnk, $37.1 million, Fintech, Egypt
Blnk lets shoppers in Egypt apply for a loan right at the checkout counter, using AI to approve credit for people that banks usually turn away. The raise combines $12.5 million in Series A equity led by Algebra Ventures with $24.6 million in debt from local banks, and will fund lending to more women and first-time borrowers.
/4. A Security, $37 million, Cybersecurity, Israel
A Security, built by Israeli security veterans, runs attacker and defender AI agents against a company’s own systems to find the exact paths a real hacker could use, then closes them. The company came out of stealth with backing from Lightspeed Venture Partners and Cyberstarts, alongside the chief executives of Wiz and Cyera as angel investors. The money will fund the expansion of its offensive security tech.
/5. Aryon Security, $29 million, Cybersecurity, Israel
Aryon Security tries to stop cloud breaches before they happen, blocking risky misconfigurations during setup instead of flagging them after the fact. The Series A was led by Brightmind Partners and Shlomo Kramer’s Skinos Ventures, with Datadog and CrowdStrike chief George Kurtz also putting in money. The startup will use the cash to scale operations and expand its platform across broader enterprise setups.
/6. Pi, $25 million, Cybersecurity, Israel
Pi, founded by former security leaders from Microsoft and Tesla, uses AI agents to find and fix software flaws as companies build and ship their code. Third Point Ventures led the Series A, which sits on top of an earlier seed round and brings total funding to about $35 million. This fresh capital is earmarked for speeding up product development and hiring more engineers to advance its flaw detection tech.
/7. Jedify, $24 million, AI infrastructure, Israel
Jedify, founded by an Israeli team, builds a layer that teaches business AI agents how a company actually works, stitching together its data, rules and in-house jargon so the agents stop guessing. Norwest led the Series A, with Snowflake joining as a strategic backer. The investment will help speed up product rollouts and expand its sales and engineering teams.
/8. Upriver, $14 million, AI data engineering, Israel
Upriver automates the dull but vital job of cleaning and organizing company data so AI projects can actually run on it. The seed round was led by Valley Capital Partners and Hetz Ventures, with the founders of data security firm Cyera among the angel investors. The startup plans to use the funds to hire more engineers, build out the product, and push for more enterprise clients.
/9. Algebra AI, $7 million, AI services, UAE
Algebra AI, founded by a former Deliveroo executive, builds custom AI systems for mid-sized Gulf companies bridging the gap between basic tools and heavy enterprise software. Backed by Infinity Constellation, BECO Capital, and Silicon Badia, the startup launched from stealth with clients in finance, food, and manufacturing. Funds will drive GCC expansion and AI engineering hires.
/10. Zuvees, $1.6 million, E-commerce, UAE
Zuvees runs an AI-powered platform for sending personalized gifts across borders, aimed at both shoppers and businesses. IvyCap Ventures provided the capital as part of an ongoing Series A, and the funds will go toward AI features and expansion across the Middle East.
Other funding this week includes Egypt’s MNT-Halan, which reached a $1.4 billion valuation in an undisclosed round led by Al Ahly Capital to back its international expansion. Kenyan healthtech Tibu Health secured financing from Proparco to expand its Minute Clinics, while Iraqi startups Mabiati and Al Jabal Agriculture each raised six-figure sums from local investors to build out their platforms.
Conclusion
With $319.7 million in disclosed funding this week, the money in Africa, the Middle East and Israel split along clear lines. Israeli cybersecurity and AI startups pulled the largest checks, fintech stayed the strongest story across Africa and the Gulf, and the loudest headline of the week, MNT-Halan’s $1.4 billion valuation, arrived without a public number attached.
Week 23’s Biggest Startup Funding Rounds in Africa and the Middle East, Led by DriveNets and Cyera
Combined deals this week crossed $1 billion.
