Fundraising in 2026?
Top 30 Middle East-focused VC funds with fresh capital to deploy right now
The Middle East’s venture ecosystem is quietly but decisively scaling
-> $2.77B deployed in the first 9 months across 388 deals (+152% YoY)
-> $6.6B raised YTD through Q3 across 514 deals (> most previous full years)
-> Saudi Arabia saw 254 VC deals in 2025, a historic high
-> 35+ new VC & PE funds launched across the GCC
Capital is flowing toward founders with conviction, especially in:
-> Fintech and embedded finance
-> AI and logistics tech
-> E-commerce/consumer platforms
-> Healthtech/biotech
-> Gaming and climate tech
Between 2020 and 2024, GCC venture capital grew at a 19% CAGR, touching $1.7B in annual deployment.
A big reason: sovereign funds and long-term LPs stepping in with size and patience.GCC
Most new funds plan 60-70% deployment in the first 3-4 years.
Fresh capital drives deployment urgency.
Urgency fasters decisions.And fast decisions favour founders who are prepared.
Below are 30 Middle East-focused funds that closed fresh capital in 2025 and seek deals, grouped by stage.
Pre-seed to Series A:
Shorooq Partners (Abu Dhabi) Fintech/AI, $150M Fund III
Wa'ed Ventures (Riyadh) Deeptech/energy, PIF-backed
Hala Ventures (Riyadh) Gaming/health, post-$157M portfolio momentum
Nuwa Capital (Dubai) Climate/fintech
Dryad Networks Early climate tech (Dubai)
BECO Capital (Dubai) Seed SaaS, active UAE leader
Dubai Future District Fund (Dubai) Deeptech/govtech
Soma Capital (Dubai) AI/consumer, fresh early allocation
MSA Novo (Riyadh) Fintech/health pre-seed
Nama Ventures (Dubai) MENA seed agnostic
The VC Fund (Dubai) Pre-seed fintech
DTEC Ventures (Dubai) Hardware/deeptech seed
Seed to Series B:
STV (Saudi Tech Ventures) (Riyadh) $1B+ AUM, fintech/enterprise
RAED Ventures (Menlo Park/Bahrain) Seed AI/SaaS
Khwarizmi Ventures (Dubai) Fintech Series A
Global Ventures (Dubai) MENA seed consumer
Series B and beyond:
Vision Ventures (VV) (Riyadh) Growth fintech/health
Middle East Venture Partners (MEVP) (Dubai) Growth e-com/fintech
Arzan Venture Capital (Riyadh) Series B+ diversified
Derayah Venture Capital (Riyadh) Late-stage tech
Saudi Venture Capital and Private Equity Association (Riyadh) Growth sovereign fund
If you’re building in the right sectors, the Middle East is one of the fastest places to raise in 2026.
Capital, policy, and timing are 3 are aligned in this region.
The question is, are you ready to seize the opportunity?
