MFC Weekly Pulse: GCC Tech & Creative Ecosystem Pulse

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📌 Quick-Glance Macro Highlights

🧠 Artificial Intelligence Momentum

Saudi Arabia

• HUMAIN Mega-Fund: Public Investment Fund’s HUMAIN is injecting $10B into global AI equity, chip procurement and LLM development, targeting 7% of worldwide AI workloads by 2030.

• Aramco’s Wa’ed Ventures backed Lucidya’s $30 million Series B—the Kingdom’s largest native AI raise to date.

• Talent & Compute: Nvidia’s initial shipment of 18,000 Blackwell GPUs lands Q4 2025 to populate Riyadh’s new 50 MW AI super-cluster.

Investor Angle: HUMAIN is actively co-investing with foreign GPs—LP tickets in its dedicated VC side-fund open Q4. Deep-tech founders should monitor forthcoming grant challenges tied to HUMAIN’s multimodal Arabic-LLM roadmap.

United Arab Emirates

• AI-Native Government: Abu Dhabi sets a 2027 deadline to automate 100% of government workflows, underpinned by AED13 billion in sovereign-cloud and ERP rollouts.

• Stargate Campus: OpenAI, Nvidia, Oracle and Cisco join MGX in a $500 billion private sector pledge; first 200 MW compute cluster goes live 2026.

• Corporate Adoption: 61% of UAE enterprises plan new AI spending in 2025 per KPMG survey.

Founder Takeaway: The Emirate’s procurement law now grants a 10% evaluation premium to AI-enabled local SMEs. Position bids accordingly.

Qatar

• $5B Ecosystem Build-out: QSTP, QBIC and Scale7 collectively operate 24 AI-specific programs, supporting 43 high-growth startups to date.

• Media City-Microsoft MoU accelerates AI in creative tech; includes compute grants for qualifying startups.

• Top Players: Zinki AI, TENN.ai and Fuloos head F6S’s 54-company AI leaderboard.

Actionable: Web Summit Qatar (23–26 Feb 2025) adds a dedicated Generative AI track—apply by 15 October for free demo pods.

🎨 Art & Creative Economy

Saudi Arabia

• ‘Origins’ Auction: Sotheby’s inaugural Saudi sale on 8 Feb 2025 achieved 74% sell-through, with Louay Kayyali’s Then What ?? closing at $900,000—a new artist record.

• Islamic Arts Biennale (Diriyah): Second edition runs Jan–May 2025, spotlighting mathematical motifs; QM loans eight rare artefacts including a 15th-century Timurid brass bowl.

• Market Outlook: Arts & Auctions revenue projected at $27.10 million for 2025, CAGR 2.01% through 2030.

United Arab Emirates

• Art Dubai 2025: 30 first-time exhibitors confirmed; sections include ‘Digital’ and ‘Bawwaba’ for Global South narratives.

• World Art Dubai: 10,000 artworks from 400+ galleries drew 11,000 visitors (17–20 Apr).

• Regional Expansion: Art Dubai Group’s Downtown Design fair debuts in Riyadh Q4 2025.

Qatar

• Spring Exhibition Slate: Mathaf’s Your Ghosts Are Mine (19 Apr–9 Aug) elevates Global South video.

• Art Mill Museum: Construction accelerates for 2030 opening on Doha Corniche.

• Latin American Spotlight: NMoQ hosts LATINOAMERICANO touring show through 14 July 2025.

Collector Note: Islamic finance-compliant art-backed lending products are under design at Saudi EXIM Bank—watch for pilot announcement H2 2025.

🔗 Blockchain & Digital Assets

Saudi Arabia

• Startup Surge: 51% Q2 2025 increase in blockchain business registrations—now >4,000 companies; 49% of new licenses issued to women founders.

• Crypto Licensing Framework: SAMA exploring CBDC integration; fatwa confirms Sharia compliance for Bitcoin transactions.

• Regulatory Sandbox: CST’s blockchain landscape report sets out DAO guidelines and Layer-2 benchmarks.

United Arab Emirates

• Unified Acceptance Rule: Merchants (outside free zones) must route crypto payments via licensed platforms by August 2025.

• VARA Stablecoin Regs: Dirham-backed tokens only; algorithmic coins banned; RWA tokenization rules require audited liquidity reserves.

• Licensing Landscape: Five regulators—CBUAE, SCA, VARA, DFSA, FSRA—offer modular paths; 27.67% of UAE residents now hold crypto.

Qatar

• Islamic Fintech: Blockchain underpins sukuk platforms like Tarmeez Capital, easing retail access to debt instruments.

• Regulatory Note: QFC’s Digital Assets Lab pilots tokenized real-estate funds to go live 2026.

Strategic: UAE free zones allow 100% foreign ownership—ideal hub for cross-border Web3 treasury ops servicing Saudi and Qatari client-bases.

🌾 Agrotech & Food-Security Innovation

Saudi Arabia

• ADF Loan Expansion: SAR7.4 billion ($2 billion) earmarked for tech-driven agri-projects in 2025—70% cost-share for IoT irrigation and greenhouse builds.

• Private Capital: SAR37 billion ($9.8 billion) in sustainable agri-investments committed YTD 2025.

• Startup Highlight: Hydroponic outfit Arable closes $2.55 million seed to localize vertical farms; 90% foreign capital participation.

United Arab Emirates

• GigaFarm Initiative: ReFarm’s 3,000-tonne vertical facility opens 2025 inside Dubai Food Tech Valley; targets 1% import substitution.

• MOCCAE + EGF MoU: AED1 billion fund channels growth capital to agritech SMEs via blended-finance instruments.

• Market Report: UAE AgTech 2025 study flags advanced greenhouses & agri-robotics as top unmet opportunity clusters.

Qatar

• Growa.ai: Combines IoT sensors, satellite imagery and blockchain; Top-10 soil monitoring startup to watch in 2025.

• VFarms & Smart-Desert Trials: Controlled-environment ag pilots receive QAR10 million in QDB grants.

• Land-Lease Incentives: Manateq slashes industrial zone rents to lure agritech manufacturing.

Investor Lens: Saudi ADF’s 70% project-value financing dramatically de-risks agri hardware ventures—co-invest structures with ADF are available for tranche sizes ≥$5 million.

🚀 Spacetech & Orbital Economy

Saudi Arabia

• Market Size: Space economy valued at $8.7 billion in 2024; forecast $31.6 billion by 2035 (12%CAGR).

• Educational Pipeline: “Madak Space” flew 10 student experiments to ISS on 25 June 2025, mentored by astronaut Rayyanah Barnawi.

• Strategic Vision: Updated Investment Law (Feb 2025) grants full foreign ownership in space R&D zones.

United Arab Emirates

• Etihad-SAT Launch: March 2025 liftoff with AI-enabled imaging payload; fully Emirati engineering team.

• Arab Satellite 813: System Integration Review completed; pan-Arab cube-sat for climate analytics.

• Space-Comm Expo Dubai: 8–9 Oct 2025 @ DWTC; 140 exhibitors, endorsed by UAE Space Economic Zones.

Qatar

• IAC 2025 Presence: Qatar hosts joint pavilion at Sydney congress, pushing for ISS-supplied protein crystal growth experiments.

Commercial Window: Saudi Neo Space Group issuing RFPs Q3 2025 for EO data-analytics startups—preferred bidders secure subsidized cloud compute under CST program.

🏥 Healthtech & Digital Care

Saudi Arabia

• Tuba Raise: $8 million pre-seed to streamline AI hospital management; aims synergy with Vision 2030 digital-health goals.

• Telemedicine Surge: $1.5 billion invested in remote care and EHRs under privatization of 290 hospitals.

• Clinicy & Athir expand SaaS EMR footprint with wa’ed-backed rounds.

United Arab Emirates

• May Funding Blip: Five startups secured $15.8 million—SANTECHTURE ($5.8 million) tops list.

• KLAIM Series A: $26 million to buy delayed insurance claims, boosting clinic liquidity.

• Valeo Series B: $12 million for AI-powered preventive-health coaching.

Qatar

• Sidra-Rasmal JV: Hospital becomes living lab for AI diagnostics and gene-therapy startups

• Digital Health Watchlist: LABES Qatar & Vasalia Healthtech headline F6S’s 7-company roster

• Qatar Innovation Hackathon awarded Growa.ai’s health-monitoring algorithms for smart poultry farming crossover use-case.

Market Gap: GCC insurers seek interoperability—FHIR-compliant APIs that plug UAE, Saudi and Qatari health records earn outsized licensing fees.

💸 Fintech & Capital Markets

Saudi Arabia

• VC Dominance: $860 million H1 2025; fintech leads deal count (30 deals, 26% share).

• Summit Circuit: Fintech Revolution Summit lands Jeddah (3 Jul 2025) and Riyadh (3 Nov 2025).

• Tarmeez Capital: strategic round to digitize sukuk issuance—2 billion SAR already facilitated.

United Arab Emirates

• Funding Rebound: Fintech raised $286 million H1 2025, up 47% vs H2 2024; total tech funding hit $1 billion.

• Emirates NBD & PwC Report: UAE fintech TAM expected to climb from $3.16 billion (2024) to $5.71 billion by 2029.

• Regulatory Edge: VARA & DIFC sandboxes streamline cross-border licensing.

Qatar

• Islamic Fintech Scale-up: Transaction volumes reach QAR10 billion ($2.7 billion) in 2024; projected $4.4 billion by 2028.

• MENA FinTech Summit & InsurTech Summit: 11 May 2025 Doha—140 speakers, 100+ startups, 45 investors.

• FinTech Hackathon: QAR25,000 awards & year-long QFC registration; themes: digital lending, wealthtech, emerging tech.

Capital Note: Saudi & UAE sovereign funds now co-lead Series B+ rounds—dual HQ structures spanning Riyadh & Abu Dhabi capture both investor pools.

🗺️ Opportunity Map & FOMO Pulse

1. Data-Center Heat Re-Use: AI gigawatts need cooling; founders offering desalination-via-heat-capture win utility MoUs in Saudi’s Western Corridor.

2. Tokenized Sukuk Platforms: UAE-licensed blockchain custodians can co-white-label with Tarmeez in <90 days, opening retail Islamic bond adoption.

3. Agri-Robotics JV: ADF’s 70% capex coverage + UAE GigaFarm scale = perfect sandbox for automated pollination drones—early pilots seek tech stack partners.

4. Space-Based EO Startups: Saudi Neo Space Group shopping for synthetic-aperture radar analytics—seed cheques up to $5 million non-dilutive.

5. Cross-Border Health APIs: Tri-national compliance wrapper (CBUAE, SDAIA, QCB) grants first-mover advantage in GCC health-fintech.

📅 Key Dates for Your Calendar

🧭 Navigation for Founders & LPs

• Saudi: Blend sovereign gigaproject contracts with HUMAIN or ADF co-funding—align proposals with Vision 2030 KPIs to de-risk.

• UAE: Leverage VARA’s clear rulebook, then passport products into Abu Dhabi or DIFC for institutional reach.

• Qatar: Use Web Summit, FinTech Hackathon and MENA FinTech Summit for soft-landing; QFTH offers convertible notes up to $500,000.

📈 Deal Tracker Table (Q1–Q2 2025)

📢 Get Involved / Pitch Us

• Want to be featured? Closing a round, building something big, or launching new tech?
  Reply or email [email protected] with “Weekly Drop Tip.”

• Deals or corrections? Same—bring us your news, and our coverage works even better for the community.

Until next week—build bold, scale smart.
 🟡 The myfounders.club team

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