VC Winter Persists: MENAPT's January 2024 Start-up Funding Plummets Over 50% Compared to Last Year

In January, startups based in the MENAPT region secured a significant investment totaling $519.7 million, but marking a 52% decrease from the previous year's figures.

This trend underscores the ongoing challenges within the venture capital landscape, signaling that the "VC winter" persists.

A substantial portion of this funding, amounting to $474.5 million and accounting for over 90% of the total MENAPT investment value, was concentrated in Israel and the UAE.

Despite this, these countries represented less than half of the total number of deals, highlighting larger raises.

Indeed, the five largest funding rounds, spanning various industries and funding stages, were also centered in these two countries:

1. Silverfort led with a $116 million Series D funding round,
2. Aqua Security, securing $60 million in its Series E round.
3. True Gamers captured $45 million,
4. Bluewhite achieved a $39 million Series C, and
5. Tumodo rounded out the list with a $35 million in Pre-Seed funding.