Speech intelligence startup Intella, originally founded in Egypt and now headquartered in Saudi Arabia, led funding activity in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region this week, raising an eight-figure amount in an oversubscribed round led by new and existing investors.
Other key startups that raised funding included Egyptian fintech firm Munify, UAE-based proptech company Seraya, Moroccan cross-border e-commerce platform Justyol, and UAE-based autotech startup WheelsOn.
Seraya
UAE-based proptech startup Seraya raised $1.8 million in seed funding, comprising a mix of debt and equity, led by a prominent Saudi Arabian family office and German family office DLL.
The startup’s total funding stands at $2.15 million.
Founded in October 2024 by Pepijn Haima and Ibrahim Shami, Seraya offers design-led, fully serviced apartments for short-term stays. It secures long-term leases (over five years) from owners, renovates and furnishes the units, and manages the entire guest experience
Seraya claims to have been profitable from day one, operating with an average occupancy of over 92%. The company currently operates a growing portfolio of premium apartments in Dubai, including in Downtown Dubai, Business Bay, and Marina.
It aims to use the fresh capital to expand its portfolio to 50 units by the end of 2025, targeting premium wellness travel.
Munify
Egyptian fintech startup Munify raised $3 million in a seed round led by Y Combinator to scale the business. The round also saw participation from BYLD and Digital Currency Group.
Founded in 2024 by Khalid Ashmawy, a former Microsoft and Uber executive and co-founder of proptech platform Huspy, Munify enables instant, low-cost remittances to Egypt, US bank account openings, debit card issuance, and hedging tools against currency volatility.
It will use the funds to strengthen its engineering and compliance teams, expand regulatory and banking partnerships, and grow into additional markets.
Intella, a Saudi Arabia-based voice technology company, secured $12.5 million in an oversubscribed Series A funding round led by Prosus. The round also saw participation from existing backers, including 500 Global, Wa’ed Ventures, Hala Ventures, and others like Idrisi Ventures and HearstLab, the investment arm of Hearst Corporation.
Founded in 2020 by Nour Taher and Omar Mansour in Cairo, Intella develops end-to-end AI models localized for the MENA region. Its flagship product, Intella Voice, is a speech-to-text engine, claiming high accuracy in Arabic dialects.
The company’s clients include telecom operators, call centers, and media firms. It plans to utilize the funding to accelerate expansion in the Saudi and Egyptian markets, and further develop its AI models.
The latest round comes a year after the company secured $3.4 million in funding in a pre-Series A round.
WheelsOn
UAE-based autotech startup WheelsOn raised $12.5 million in a mix of equity and debt to support growth and expansion.
The round comprised $2.2 million in equity from a group of MENA-focused private investors, including Xploration Capital’s partners, $6.5 million for fleet expansion, and $4 million in bank financing.
Founded in 2023 by Nikolay Melnichuk, Adlet Shagirov, and Maxim Olivson, WheelsOn offers a deposit-free, fully-digital car rental platform designed to eliminate hidden fees, paperwork, and security deposits.
WheelsOn plans to use the funds to expand its fleet, speed up product development, and grow its market presence. The company is rolling out advanced AI-powered dynamic pricing tools to improve fleet utilization and smarter personalization software that recommends vehicles, insurance, and rental periods based on user preferences.
Justyol
Justyol, a Morocco-based cross-border e-commerce platform, secured a $1 million funding and financing package to scale operations.
The package includes $400,000 in equity from an angel investor and $600,000 in inventory financing from Danis Group, a Turkish investment firm.
Founded in 2022 by Ahmed Badran, Ahmed Rashed, and Anas Ahmed, Justyol is a fashion e-commerce marketplace that bridges the gap between the Turkish fashion market and MENA markets.
The startup aims to use the funds to further expand in Morocco, scale across the region, and prepare for a Series A round.
