July 2024 - Top 5 Most Funded Startups in MENAPT

As the second half of 2024 begins, venture capital activity in the MENAPT region is gaining strong momentum. In July, VC funding surged to US $1.171 billion, a substantial increase from June’s US $497.1 million and an impressive 123% year-on-year growth compared to July 2023’s US $524.8 million. 

This surge in capital, however, contrasts with a 23% year-on-year decline in the number of deals, which dropped from 93 in July 2023 to 72 in July 2024. Despite this decrease, the number of deals still shows an improvement over the 55 deals closed in June, signaling a potential rebound. 

Notably, the five most funded startups in July raised a combined US $752.5 million, accounting for 64% of the total capital raised. This concentration of funding was driven by three mega-rounds exceeding US $100 million in the retailtech, fintech, and healthtech sectors. 

Infobyte: MENAPT Funding Rounds Highlights: July 2024 vs July 2023

1. Pathfinder | RetailTech (UAE) | US $325 Million (Debt Financing) 

Founded in 1993 by Ahmed Hussain, Kristin MacDermott, and Sadique Ahmed, Pathfinder specializes in AI-based retail intelligence solutions aimed at enhancing retail operations. Pathfinder integrates physical and digital shopping experiences through RetailGPT featuring personalized recommendations and real-time sales visibility, streamlines lease management for brands with multiple outlets, ensuring efficient oversight and optimization of retail spaces, and provides real-time sales visibility across franchisees, reducing manipulation risks and building trust with accurate data insights. 

In July 2024, Pathfinder secured US $325 million in debt financing led by Silver Rock Group. The new funds are dedicated to supporting the continuous development and global rollout of the RetailGPT platform, ensuring Pathfinder remains at the cutting edge of retail technology.

2. MNT-Halan | FinTech (Egypt) | US $157.5 Million (Venture - Series unknown) 

Founded in 2017 by Ahmed Mohsen, Mohamed Aboulnaga, Mounir Nakhla, MNT-Halan provides financial services to the unbanked and underbanked populations of MENA. MNT-Halan offers mobile wallets, virtual cards, and peer-to-peer transfers as well as lending services like microfinance, SME lending, nano loans, and payroll lending. It even has platforms for home appliances and FMCG products with Buy Now Pay Later options like credit limits for consumers to shop and pay in installments. 

In July 2024, MNT-Halan raised US $157.5 million in a funding round led by the International Finance Corporation, bringing its total raised to US $627.5 million. The new funds will be used to expand their operations, including the acquisition of fintech company, Tam Finans, in Turkey.  

3. Magenta Medical | HealthTech (Israel) | US $105 Million (Venture - Series unknown) 

Founded in 2012 by Ehud Schwammenthal, Yosi Tuval, Magenta Medical is a medical device company specialized in developing miniaturized catheter-mounted axial-flow pumps for heart failure indications. Their flagship product is the Elevate™ System, a self-expanding percutaneous heart pump designed to provide temporary mechanical circulatory support for the left ventricle during high-risk percutaneous coronary interventions and in patients with cardiogenic shock. 

In July 2024, Magenta Medical raised US $105 million in a funding round led by Novo Holdings, bringing its total raised to US $179 million. The new funding will be used to advance the company’s US clinical programs in multiple mechanical circulatory support indications and secure the first FDA approval for the Elevate™ System in patients undergoing high-risk percutaneous coronary interventions.  

4. Sentient Labs | AI - Blockchain (UAE) | US $85 Million Seed Round  

Sentient Labs, founded in January 2024 by Polygon Labs co-founder Sandeep Nailwal and others, aims to democratize AI by building an open-source, decentralized AI on the Polygon CDK chain. With a lean team and a focus on transparency, Sentient seeks to counter the dominance of large corporations and ensure AI benefits are accessible to all. The project is set to enter its testnet phase soon. 

In July 2024, Sentient Labs closed a US $85 million Seed round co-led by Pantera Capital and Peter Thiel’s Founders Fund. This funding will be used to accelerate the development of an open-source AI platform, hire experts in AI research and blockchain engineering, and establish partnerships with leading academic institutions and industry players.  

5. CytoReason | HealthTech (Israel) | US $80 Million Series B 

Founded in 2016 by David Harel, Ido Amit, and Shai Shen-Orr, CytoReason develops computational models of human diseases, which are used to simulate disease progression and treatment outcomes. They combine proprietary data with public datasets to create comprehensive disease models that help pharmaceutical companies understand disease mechanisms and predict patient responses to treatments and use AI to provide insights for drug development. 

In July 2024, CytoReason raised US $80 million in Series B funding bringing its total funds to US $100 million. The new funds will expand CytoReason’s disease models and proprietary data for strategic decision making with greater speed and precision.