From industrial robots and Shariah-compliant financing to beauty brands and workforce housing, investors across the Gulf continued to deploy capital into a wide range of sectors as September drew to a close.
The latest deals highlight the breadth of the region’s startup ecosystem, with Gulf-backed investors participating in a major US robotics round while Saudi and UAE companies raised fresh funding to scale across the region.
Artificial intelligence, alternative finance, consumer products, real estate and hospitality all featured prominently in the latest transactions.
Shorooq and Presight back Maven Robotics in $100 million funding round
UAE-based investment firm Shorooq and Presight, the artificial intelligence company owned by G42, have joined a $100 million Series A round for US industrial robotics startup Maven Robotics.
The investment, made through funds managed by Shorooq, extends Gulf investors’ growing exposure to AI companies developing technologies for physical-world applications.
RoboStrategy, LocalGlobe, Vine Ventures and XTX Ventures also participated in the financing. The individual amounts committed by Shorooq and Presight were not disclosed.
Maven, founded in 2024 by Hamza Derbas and headquartered in Santa Clara, California, develops autonomous robots for manufacturing and logistics operations.
The company’s early products are designed to handle tasks such as mixed-case palletizing and tote movement in warehouses and production environments—areas where companies are increasingly looking to automation to improve efficiency and address labor-intensive processes.
Maven says its robots are already operating at customer sites for as many as 16 hours a day, with reported reliability exceeding 99%.
The company intends to use the new capital to expand hardware production, with plans to manufacture 250 third-generation robots while simultaneously developing its fourth-generation platform.
The next generation of machines is expected to broaden Maven’s capabilities beyond palletizing and into a wider range of materials-handling tasks.
The company’s team brings together expertise in artificial intelligence, robotics, engineering and autonomous systems. Maven is also developing data pipelines designed to allow its machines to learn from real-world operations—an important component of its strategy to combine physical robotics with AI.
The deal represents another example of Gulf capital reaching beyond the region to back emerging technologies with potential applications across industrial sectors.
Erad raises $22 million as alternative financing demand grows
Saudi alternative financing platform Erad has secured $22 million in a Series A round led by Middle East Venture Partners as it prepares for another phase of expansion across the Gulf Cooperation Council.
The financing attracted a mix of new and existing investors.
New participants included 500 Global, Saudi Venture Capital and S60 Ventures, alongside ANB Capital, Conjunction Capital and Araya Ventures.
Existing backers Khwarizmi Ventures, Nuwa Capital and Aljazira Capital also participated, as did Oraseya Capital and Joa Capital.
Founded in 2022 by Salem Abu-Hammour, Faris Yaghmour, Abdulmalik Al-Meheini and Youssef Said, Erad provides Shariah-compliant working-capital financing to small and medium-sized businesses in Saudi Arabia and the UAE.
The company offers financing of up to SR10 million, equivalent to about $2.6 million.
Erad says it has provided more than SR500 million in cumulative financing after receiving requests worth more than SR4 billion.
Its Saudi operation has recorded eightfold year-on-year growth, with demand expanding beyond its original customer base into areas including logistics, medical equipment and wholesale distribution.
The company plans to use its latest funding to develop financing products tailored to industrial, logistics and manufacturing companies while expanding into additional Gulf markets.
It also expects to increase its technology and commercial teams as it scales.
The Series A follows a $125 million scalable financing facility led by Jefferies in November, giving Erad additional capacity to finance businesses as it expands its operations.
Amaani raises $5 million to take AIZA beyond the UAE
Consumer company Amaani has raised $5 million in Series A funding as it looks to expand its beauty brand AIZA across the Middle East.
BECO Capital led the round, with Homegrown Ventures and Peak XV’s Surge also participating. The latest investment brings Amaani’s total funding to $8 million.
Founded by Shubham Poddar in 2023, Amaani aims to build consumer brands originating from the Middle East.
Its first brand, AIZA, launched in December 2024 with skincare and haircare products inspired by ingredients and beauty traditions associated with the Arab world.
The company says AIZA’s net revenue increased more than ninefold year on year during the first half of 2026, reflecting rapid growth as the brand expands beyond its original digital-first model.
AIZA products are now available online, through Ounass and in Ulta Beauty stores in the UAE.
The brand’s formulations feature ingredients including dates, black seed, frankincense, rose and bakhoor. Product development is carried out with laboratories in Korea, Japan and Italy, while technology is used across areas such as analytics, marketing and operational planning.
Amaani plans to direct the new funding toward product development, recruitment and technology infrastructure.
Saudi Arabia is its next major expansion market, with planned launches in Jeddah and Riyadh. The company also expects to enter Kuwait and Qatar during the fourth quarter.
The expansion comes as regional consumer companies increasingly seek to build brands around Middle Eastern identity while using international manufacturing and technology capabilities to scale.
Rela attracts strategic investment for Saudi workforce housing
Saudi workforce housing startup Rela has secured an undisclosed investment from Yazeed Al Rajhi & Brothers Holding, which is joining the company as both an investor and strategic partner.
Launched in early 2026 by Salman Al Jabrain, Rela operates a technology platform for licensed accommodation and property management.
The company connects property owners, developers and investors with businesses seeking accommodation for employees and workers.
Rather than operating solely as a marketplace, Rela manages the preparation, operation and maintenance of workforce housing facilities.
Its offering also includes supporting services such as transportation and catering, allowing corporate clients to manage several accommodation-related requirements through a single provider.
The platform gives customers tools to handle reservations, monitor occupancy, allocate workers across properties and analyse operational information.
Rela is targeting companies in industries with significant workforce accommodation needs, including construction, logistics, industrial operations, hospitality, retail and maintenance.
Its customer base also includes contractors involved in large-scale projects.
With the new investment, the company plans to expand its network of workforce housing properties and residential complexes across Saudi Arabia.
Rela will work with property owners, developers and investors to identify suitable real estate, match it with corporate accommodation demand and manage the services required to operate the facilities.
Pinnacle increases investment in Saudi hospitality platform Gathern
Saudi investment firm Pinnacle Capital has increased its exposure to alternative accommodation platform Gathern through its Pinnacle Growth & Secondary Fund.
The value of the latest transaction and Pinnacle’s resulting ownership stake were not disclosed.
Riyadh-based Gathern was founded in 2016 by Latifah Al-Tamimi and Faisal Al-Anazi. The platform connects travellers with locally hosted accommodation throughout Saudi Arabia, including apartments, villas, chalets, farms and camps.
Pinnacle initially invested in Gathern as part of the company’s SR270 million, or $72 million, Series B round in August 2025.
Sanabil Investments led that financing, with Endeavor Catalyst, Nuwa Capital and STV also participating alongside Pinnacle.
The Series B valued Gathern at more than SR1 billion.
At the time of the funding round, Gathern reported more than 5 million registered users representing 150 nationalities. The platform also had more than 72,000 listed accommodation units and had facilitated payments exceeding SR2 billion to local hosts.
The company’s founders have previously indicated that Gathern is targeting an initial public offering in 2028 while continuing to expand into services beyond accommodation.
Pinnacle’s latest investment gives the firm additional exposure to a Saudi hospitality platform as domestic and regional travel demand continues to create opportunities for alternative accommodation businesses.
Gulf capital continues to target growth across sectors
The latest transactions underline how varied the Gulf’s investment activity has become.
AI and robotics remain major areas of interest, with Shorooq and Presight extending regional capital into advanced industrial technology in the US. At the same time, Saudi startups are attracting funding for businesses addressing more immediate regional needs, from SME financing and workforce accommodation to hospitality and consumer products.
The deals also show a growing emphasis on scaling successful business models across the GCC rather than limiting companies to a single domestic market.
For investors, that regional expansion opportunity can provide startups with a much larger addressable market. For founders, access to Gulf capital is increasingly accompanied by strategic partnerships and networks that can help accelerate expansion.
As September closed, the latest funding activity offered another snapshot of an increasingly diverse Gulf startup ecosystem—one where investment is flowing not only into software and fintech, but also into robots, beauty products, housing and the infrastructure supporting a rapidly evolving regional economy.
