The wire

BY Venture Partners participated in an oversubscribed $2 million pre-seed round for Canadian AI startup ChatFeatured, alongside Storytime Capital and Garage Capital, to support the development of AI-powered search optimisation tools.

Syria-based healthtech startup DoctorBook has raised a $16,000 pre-Seed funding round to accelerate the digitisation of medical appointment bookings and healthcare services in Syria.

Saudi AI startup RIME has raised more than $2 million in a Seed funding round led by SEEDRA Ventures, with participation from Athla Investment, Unity Invest Partners, and angel investors. The company develops a platform that enables enterprises to deploy AI Agents powered by Edge Computing and AIoT to make real-time decisions at operational sites, and will use the funding to strengthen its presence in Saudi Arabia and accelerate platform development for scalable AI applications across day-to-day operations.

UAE-based startup 121 Living, founded by Syrian entrepreneurs Rami Kaiem, Feras Kaiem, Waseem Qudmani, and Kinan Madi, has launched My Syria, described as Syria's first integrated super app for tourism, lifestyle services, and digital payments. The initiative was launched with strategic support from Syria's Ministry of Tourism. The platform currently integrates eight services, including hotel bookings, restaurants, transportation, tourist attractions, experiences, and food delivery, with plans to expand to more than 40 verified tourism and hospitality providers across Syria. My Syria is the first platform in Syria to support cross-border digital payments through Apple Pay, Google Pay, Visa, Mastercard, and American Express, allowing international visitors to book and pay digitally within a…

An article by Shahnaz Hamade, Founder and CEO of Harmonie Consulting There is a particular kind of exhaustion that many founders understand. It comes from being the answer to every question, the approver of every decision and the person whose phone is never truly off. From the outside, this can look like commitment. Inside the company, however, it may signal something more serious: the operating model has failed to keep pace with the business. In the early stages, centralised leadership is often necessary. The founder holds the vision, understands the customer and can make decisions faster than any committee. But as the company hires more people, enters new markets and manages a wider product portfolio, that same concentration of authority can begin to constrain growth. Research cited by M…

Press release: Startup Grind Doha and Olive Suno Radio Network are proud to announce a strategic partnership to launch Yalla Startups, Qatar's first radio & multi-platform programme dedicated exclusively to startups, entrepreneurship, and innovation. Broadcast weekly on OSRN’s mainstream and digital platforms, including VoiceCast (OSRN’s flagship OTT podcast distribution platform)., Yalla Startups will feature founders with a platform to share their entrepreneurial journey, showcase their innovations, and inspire listeners through authentic conversations about building businesses in Qatar. The partnership aims to bridge the gap between startups and the wider community by giving entrepreneurs access to one of Qatar's largest consumer audiences while also reaching thousands of entrepreneurs,…