Investors & Ecosystem

Who funds and builds the UAE startup ecosystem — venture capital firms, accelerators, incubators, sovereign investors, and government funds active across Dubai, Abu Dhabi, and Sharjah. Each profile tracks the funding rounds they back and the news they appear in. Looking for the companies themselves? Browse the startup directory.

5

500 Global

Global early-stage VC founded in 2010 by Dave McClure and Christine Tsai, with about $2.3B in assets under management across 2,400+ companies. Active in MENA since 2012 with a Riyadh regional HQ, the Sanabil 500 accelerator and UAE bets such as Eyewa, TruKKer and Sarwa.

VCSan Francisco, USA

VCSan Francisco, USA

A

A-typical Ventures

Doha-based early-stage VC fund and venture studio launched in February 2025 by Utopia Capital Management with backing from Qatar Investment Authority's Fund of Funds and Qatar Development Bank. It backed Abu Dhabi risk-intelligence startup Azraq's oversubscribed pre-seed in 2026.

VCDoha, Qatar

VCDoha, Qatar

A

Access Bridge Ventures

Pre-Series A venture fund of $35M investing across MENA and Pakistan, with LPs including ADQ, Mubadala Capital, Jada, SVC and ISSF. UAE portfolio includes Keyper, RemotePass, Skillbee and Yozo ($1.7M, 2026).

VCDubai, UAE

VCDubai, UAE

BECO Capital

Dubai-based early-stage venture firm investing in MENA technology companies across seed and Series A.

VCDubai

VCDubai

E

Ethereal Ventures

Crypto-native early-stage VC founded in 2021 as a ConsenSys Labs spin-out by Min Teo, with Joseph Lubin as chairman, managing about $150M across two funds and 80+ pre-seed/seed bets. Co-led Dubai-based Bundle's $5.5M pre-seed in July 2026.

VCRoad Town, British Virgin Islands

VCRoad Town, British Virgin Islands

F

First Drop VC

Impact VC registered in Luxembourg with a Spanish team and an acceleration programme in Valencia, investing €100K–€300K at pre-seed and seed with follow-ons above €1M. Led Abu Dhabi proptech eVoost AI's €2M ($2.2M) round in May 2026.

VCLuxembourg

VCLuxembourg

F

Further Ventures

Abu Dhabi venture builder and investor launched in 2022 with a $200M fund anchored by ADQ, focused on fintech and digital assets. UAE portfolio includes CredibleX ($55M seed, 2024), Fuze, Aurem and Bundle (co-led $5.5M pre-seed, 2026).

VCAbu Dhabi, UAE

VCAbu Dhabi, UAE

G

Galaxy Ventures

Venture arm of Galaxy (Galaxy Digital), the New York digital-asset financial services firm founded by Mike Novogratz in 2018. Investing from Galaxy's balance sheet since 2018 and its $175M Galaxy Ventures Fund I (closed 2025), it led Abu Dhabi-based Soter Insure's Series A (2025) and Series B (2026).

VCNew York, USA

VCNew York, USA

Global Ventures

Dubai-based VC investing in high-growth technology companies across emerging markets including MENA and Africa.

VCDubai

VCDubai

I

Iliad Partners

UAE venture firm founded in 2016 by Christos Mastoras and Omar Al-Madhi, now headquartered in ADGM, Abu Dhabi and a Hub71 partner. Its $50M second fund (second close Sept 2025) backs B2B software; it led Comfi's $65M pre-Series A in 2026 and holds Qashio and OTO.

VCAbu Dhabi, UAE

VCAbu Dhabi, UAE

I

Incubayt Investments

Dubai-based investment firm founded in 2019 by solar entrepreneur Sami Khoreibi, focused on early-stage climate-tech startups across EMEA plus LP stakes in funds like BITKRAFT. UAE portfolio includes Planno (2026), The Waste Lab and Wisewell.

VCDubai, UAE

VCDubai, UAE

K

Karatage

London-based investment firm founded in 2017 that invests in crypto assets, fund managers and companies, and is an LP in managers such as Multicoin and ParaFi. It was sole investor in UAE broker Epic Markets' $10M pre-seed round in July 2026.

VCLondon, UK

VCLondon, UK

L

Lunara Partners

Multi-stage alternative investment firm investing predominantly across MENA, co-founded by ex-Global Ventures senior partner Said Murad and Omar Alkhawaja. In 2026 it led Cobi's $1M pre-seed and HeyBreez's $2.5M seed, backing founders from first build through to pre-liquidity.

VCDubai, UAE

VCDubai, UAE

L

Lux Capital

New York venture firm founded in 2000 with about $7B AUM and a $1.5B ninth fund closed in January 2026, backing frontier tech such as Anduril, Hugging Face and Runway. Led GCC sovereign-AI startup 1001's $30M Series A in June 2026, with PIF's Sanabil joining.

VCNew York, USA

VCNew York, USA

MEVP

Middle East Venture Partners — regional VC backing tech startups across MENA from seed through growth.

VCDubai

VCDubai

N

Nuwa Capital

UAE-based venture firm backing early-stage technology companies with a focus on the Middle East.

VCDubai

VCDubai

P

Pharsalus Capital

New York-based crypto venture firm founded in 2024 by Anthony Ghosn, investing in and building companies and protocols that expand crypto access in emerging markets. Led UAE fintech Sovra's $2M+ pre-seed in June 2026 alongside angels including Naguib Sawiris.

VCNew York, USA

VCNew York, USA

P

Plus VC

Abu Dhabi (ADGM)-based early-stage VC founded in 2020 by Hasan Haider and Sharif El-Badawi, former managing partners of 500 Startups' MENA fund. It has made 100+ investments across MENA and its diaspora, including UAE startups Holo and GrowDash.

VCAbu Dhabi, UAE

VCAbu Dhabi, UAE

R

Raed Ventures

Riyadh-based early-stage VC founded in 2015 by Omar Almajdouie, Saed Nashef and Talal Alasmari with backing from Almajdouie Holding. It has made 50+ investments in Saudi and MENA startups including Tabby, Lean, Salla and Mozn, and led UAE fintech Wafeq's $3M seed in 2023 and XSquare's pre-seed in 2026.

VCRiyadh, Saudi Arabia

VCRiyadh, Saudi Arabia

S

STV

Riyadh-based technology VC founded in 2018 by Abdulrahman Tarabzouni and anchored by stc, with $800M under management plus a $100M Google-backed AI fund and a $100M NICE non-dilutive fund. UAE-linked portfolio includes Careem, TruKKer, Qlub and Tabby.

VCRiyadh, Saudi Arabia

VCRiyadh, Saudi Arabia

S

Shorooq Partners

Abu Dhabi-based multi-asset investment manager founded in 2017 by Shane Shin and Mahmoud Adi, running venture capital and private credit strategies with about $500M AUM. Its 100+ portfolio companies include UAE names Pure Harvest, Sarwa, NymCard, Qlub, Pemo and Prypco.

VCAbu Dhabi, UAE

VCAbu Dhabi, UAE

S

Speedinvest

Vienna-headquartered early-stage VC founded in 2011 with 400+ investments and more than €1bn raised across funds, investing €250K–€5M at seed and up to €30M at growth. In 2026 it launched a MEA fund backed by Mubadala and QIA and led Keyper's $11M Series A.

VCVienna, Austria

VCVienna, Austria

Wamda Capital

Early-stage MENA venture capital firm investing in founders building regional and global tech companies.

VCDubai

VCDubai