Saudi headquartered Blockchain insuretech startup TakaDAO raises $1.6 million

Saudi headquartered Blockchain insuretech startup TakaDAO raises $1.6 million

Saudi headquartered Blockchain Fintech startup, Takadao, has raised $1.6 million in pre seed round led by Draper Associates. Other investors include BIM, Core Vision ventures, Prince Sultan Bin Fahad bin Salman Al Saud.

Takadao builds community-owned financial services on the blockchain, with two flagship products in savings and loans (Takaturn) and cooperative life insurance. Takadao’s products are Shariah-compliant and target the Muslim population globally.

According to the Pew Research Centre: “Globally, the Muslim population is forecast to grow at about twice the rate of the non-Muslim population over the next two decades – an average annual growth rate of 1.5% for Muslims, compared with 0.7% for non-Muslims. If current trends continue, Muslims will make up 26.4% of the world’s total projected population of 8.3 billion in 2030, up from 23.4% of the estimated 2010 world population of 6.9 billion”.

Islamic finance grew 17% in 2021 to $4 trillion and is forecasted to keep growing in double digits for the next five years. Takadao extends the reach of Islamic finance by providing shariah-compliant loans and insurance through the blockchain, enabling global access even in countries where populations are largely unbanked.

Co-founder and COO, Sharene Lee, states: “Many of us, Muslims and otherwise, live in countries with unstable economies, weak currencies and high inflation. There is low access to the traditional banking system coupled with increasing distrust. Banks and insurance companies exist to increase shareholder value and this takes priority over consumer well-being. At Takadao, we build community-owned financial services whose shareholders are the users themselves. By vesting ownership with the end users, we ensure that their well-being is the primary focus. Furthermore, shareholder profits get redistributed among the end users. The only way we can do this is through the decentralized blockchain and cryptocurrencies.”

To this end, Takadao has two complementary products, Takaturn and Takasure. Takaturn is based on the ROSCA concept, commonly known as Jamaiyah in the Middle East, Ballot Committee in Pakistan, Tontine in parts of Africa, and chit fund in India. Takasure is a cooperative insurance product based on the Takaful model; it is still in development with an anticipated launch date of June 2024.

This marks the first investment for Tim Draper in a Saudi-based startup. Draper’s investment track record in Baidu, Skype, and Hotmail all precipitated significant changes in consumer behavior that have become the norm today, whether it’s email, search or voip. In recent times, Draper has backed Robinhood and Coinbase and significantly, he is an outspoken advocate of Bitcoin and decentralized finance.

On why he decided to invest, Draper said: “Takadao is one of those companies that you don’t know quite where it’s going to go, but if it succeeds, it’s going to be really impactful and make a big difference in the world and this is a world that I want to live in. The insurance business generally has become corrupted and Takadao is going right after the insurance business with something that’s very pure; the blockchain is pure, Bitcoin is pure, decentralization is pure.”

Takadao has a community of 10,000+ members that is growing by 5% week-on-week.

Blockchain enabled Hyperspace raises millions of dollars from KSA backed Riyadh Seasons

Blockchain enabled Hyperspace raises millions of dollars from KSA backed Riyadh Seasons

UAE based Blockchain, VR, NFT enabled physical theme park builder has received millions of dollars in investment from KSA’s sovereign fund backed Riyadh Seasons. The majority of the $55million raised came from Riyadh Seasons. U.S. based Galaxy Interactive, venture capital firm focused on gaming, led the latest funding round, which includes other international investors.

Founded by Alexander Heller in 2020, Hyperspace is building physical theme park attractions that are blockchain-enabled and extended reality-native, with it making use of cutting-edge emerging technologies, spatial compute layers, real life virtual effects, and non-fungible token (NFT) projects

Heller sees them as physical front ends to the metaverse, with visitors to these venues making use of the developed technologies to access everything from surreal-istic playgrounds and immersive neighborhoods, to virtual production stages containing holographic super cars and high-end digital fashion.

HyperSpace had raised $11 million in equity in 2021 allowing it to scale its operations. At the time Heller noted, “In a world where blockchain, spatial computing, digital identity, and growth in the gaming and social media sector took meteoric steps in 2021, HyperSpace has rooted itself in building towards a future where these trends find place in the amusement attractions industry.”

In Q3 of 2023 Hyperscale will launch in Dubai Mall the House of Hype after it successful launched its first Immersive AYA space in Wafi Mall where nearly half a million enthusiasts paying $34 to enter its 40,000-square-foot park.

According to the Financial Times article KSA Riyadh Season, a government-backed entertainment initiative under the auspices of the sovereign wealth fund, has invested the majority of the $55mn of debt and equity raised by HyperSpace.  Riyadh Season is led by Turki al-Sheikh, who chairs the General Entertainment Authority.

HyperSpace is launching House of Hype in Riyadh in November.  The Riyadh-based company plans to expand in Saudi Arabia and beyond to the US. “There’s a big focus on expanding the business” to the rest of the world, Heller says in the interview with FT.

He adds, “Riyadh was a uniquely attractive partner, Heller said, given the importance of shopping centers to Saudis, who are also highly engaged in social media. HyperSpace is keen to be behind the push to attract consumers back to shopping malls, which have been hit by a rise in online shopping. Our parks adapt the best ingredients of video games, social media, and Web3 culture; translating them into future forward entertainment attractions.”

UAE Venture Capital firm raises $50 million to invest in Blockchain Web3 startups

UAE Venture Capital firm raises $50 million to invest in Blockchain Web3 startups

UAE based Illuminati Capital has raised $50 million to invest in early-stage blockchain startups including game companies.

According to the news, the Dubai based firm and its partners have individually invested in blockchain startups worth over $1 billion.

Illuminati Capital aims to offer more than just financial support. The venture capital firm is dedicated to building the global Web3 ecosystem and driving transformative shifts in decentralized technologies.

The team behind Illuminati Capital has collectively deployed $30 million, resulting in exits worth $150 million.

Vickaash Agrawal partner at Illiminati Capital stated in an article in Venture Beats, “We are witnessing a remarkable growth trajectory in Web3 venture investing.  With a track record of 120-plus successful blockchain investments in my investment portfolio, I will bring my expertise in data, infrastructure, regulation and mining.”

Illuminati Capital’s investment focus spans multiple verticals, including decentralized finance (DeFi), blockchain gaming, artificial intelligence, NFT infrastructure, and real-world assets (RWA). By strategically investing in pioneering sectors, Illuminati Capital aims to play a pivotal role in shaping the decentralized economy of the future.

“The possibilities of decentralized technology are endless,” said Dhaval Parikh, a partner at Illuminati Capital and blockchain investor with five-plus years of experience and a portfolio of leading Web3 high-end projects, in a statement. “With a background in VC, I will focus on due diligence, risk assessment, portfolio management, and deal flow while analyzing industry trends and key ecosystem insights.”

Blockchain startup Shardeum, whose seed investor includes UAE Ghaf Capital closes new round of $5.4 million

Blockchain startup Shardeum, whose seed investor includes UAE Ghaf Capital closes new round of $5.4 million

A Blockchain EVM layer 1 startup, Shardeum, whose very first investors in its $18.2 million seed round included UAE Ghaf Capital, has closed a new roud of $5.4 million from investors that include Amber Group, Galxe, J17 Capital, Jsquare, and TRGC, as well as Bware Labs, Tané Labs, Hyperithm Group, Luganodes, Blockchain Ventures Hub, CryptoViet Ventures, Blue7, and more. 

Shardeum aims to leverage the additional funding to further support the growth of the ecosystem in the lead-up to the mainnet launch later this year.

Founded in 2022, Shardeum is a highly-scalable EVM-based layer-1 blockchain deploying dynamic state sharding to keep gas fees low and transactions per second high as participation grows. As of today (July 7, 2023), more than 7.4 million transactions have taken place on the testnet, with 820K+ accounts and over 230K contracts deployed.

Kelsey McGuire, chief growth officer at Shardeum states,“The completion of this strategic raise from key participants puts Shardeum in position to expand on our mission to cultivate a global and diverse community. Given Shardeum’s consensus design and use of dynamic state sharding, validator participation is highly accessible regardless of user access to computing resources. This raise allows us to continue to prioritise decentralisation by growing our community of participants worldwide through education and other key initiatives.”

The $5.4 million raise follows Shardeum’s successful $18.2 million seed round in October 2022 from backers such as Jane Street, Big Brain Holdings, Struck Crypto, The Spartan Group, Ghaf Capital, DFG, CoinGecko Ventures, Foresight Ventures. With this Shardeum has raised $23.6 million in total. 

UAE Cypher capital leading investor in multi chain DeFi protocol Concordia

UAE Cypher capital leading investor in multi chain DeFi protocol Concordia

UAE Cypher Capital is one of the investors in Concordia, a multi-chain risk and collateral management protocol for digital assets. Concordia closed a successful $4 million seed round in June, attracting significant investments from Tribe Capital, Kraken Ventures and UAE based Cypher Capital among other investors including Saison Capital. 

Concordia’s vision is to create an interconnected, permissionless, and optimized DeFi ecosystem that promotes accessibility, affordability, and developer-friendly environments, ultimately unlocking the true transformative potential of DeFi.

Concordia’s ground-breaking solution attracted the attention of leading Dubai VC Cypher Capital, who are building their portfolio into one of the leading web3 centric portfolios globally.

Bill Qian, Chairman of Cypher Capital said “Concordia represents a significant milestone in the evolution of decentralized finance. As Chairman of Cypher Capital, I am thrilled to be part of this ground-breaking initiative that is bridging the gap between traditional finance and the fast-emerging digital asset ecosystem. Concordia’s innovative collateral management protocol and commitment to interoperability are poised to unlock new opportunities and drive greater efficiency in the global financial landscape. We firmly believe in Concordia’s vision and are excited to support their journey towards creating an interconnected and optimized DeFi ecosystem.”

Concordia addresses this critical pain point within the Web3 ecosystem by leveraging its collateral management capabilities to enable seamless value transfer across previously segregated pools of liquidity, ultimately fostering interoperability across chains. Concordia users gain access to a unified account that allows efficient management of all their assets, opening doors to new opportunities in the rapidly evolving digital economy. By seamlessly integrating multiple blockchains, Concordia pioneers the concept of a cross-chain, cross-protocol margin account in the cryptocurrency space.

The integration of Concordia’s multichain account platform by several prominent Web3 companies enables their users to seamlessly execute margin-related actions.

Concordia is designed as a modular Infrastructure-as-a-Service solution for collateral management, offering a range of products addressing risk, pricing, brokering, rebalancing, non-custodial wallets, and cross-chain synchronization. This architectural flexibility allows Concordia to continuously adapt to the rapidly evolving digital asset landscape.

Tribe Capital’s Managing Partner, Boris Revsin, stated, “I’ve known the team behind Concordia for quite some time, and I am confident they have the grit, technical skills, and go-to-market understanding to make Concordia a market leader in DeFi.”

Laurens De Poorter, Partner at Kraken Ventures, said, “The fragmentation of liquidity across an increasing number of blockchains is a known core issue for those that believe in a multi-chain future. Solving it requires not only superior technology but also best-in-class business development and a deep experience in risk management & compliance. We believe Concordia’s founding team is one of those rare teams that makes all stars align to have a real lasting impact on the overall crypto industry. We could not be more excited to partner up with them!”

Uri Ferruccio, CEO of Concordia, highlights the company’s mission, stating, “Concordia is solving the value convertibility problem for digital assets. There are many different digital assets and distributed ledgers. This has pros and cons. You can create a micro-economy tailored for the fans of a specific company, for example, but value also gets trapped in a multitude of different pockets. Concordia’s unique combination of interoperability technology and institutional-grade risk and collateral management creates a better and safer solution for cross-chain value transfer.”

GCC Investcorp Blockchain fund leads $15 million investment round in Spanish crypto exchange

GCC Investcorp Blockchain fund leads $15 million investment round in Spanish crypto exchange

GCC ( Gulf Cooperation Council) and MENA based Investcorp, a global alternative investment firm has led a $15 million investment round for BitMe a Spanish crypto exchange. Included in the list of investors was Telefonica Ventures, Stratminds VC, Cardano, and YGG Fund.

In April 2022 GCC headquartered Investcorp, launched eLydian Lion, the first dedicated institutional blockchain fund based in the GCC, with a global investment mandate (the “Fund”). The Blockchain ELydian Lion Fund, was led from Investcorp’s Abu Dhabi office UAE office, and was deployed globally with a focus on investments in companies leading the next digital evolution driven by blockchain technology.

At the time Investcorp noted that the Fund would mainly invest in early-stage companies operating in areas within the blockchain ecosystem such as blockchain infrastructure, platforms and exchanges, DeFi, (decentralized finance), and data analytics.

Fast forward, Investcorp has now invested in Bit2Me which will use the funds to grow its position in Spain, where the company was born, and to accelerate its expansion in Latin America.

“This funding will boost our acquisition of new customers specially thanks to Investcorp, an international partner with significant financial muscle, and to Telefónica, who will give us more channels in Latin America,” Leif Ferreira, co-founder and CEO of Bit2Me, said in a statement.

In July 2022, Bit2Me acquired a majority stake in the Peruvian peer Fluyez, in what was the first step of a search for acquisition opportunities in Chile, Colombia and Uruguay, the company said at the time.

In February, Bit2Me obtained approval from the Bank of Spain to be the first provider of services for the exchange of virtual currency for fiat currency and the custody of digital wallets.

Hervé François, Partner of the Blockchain/Digital Assets fund at Investcorp who is based in Abu Dhabi, stated on LinkedIn, “ I am thrilled to announce that I am joining the Board of Directors of Bit2Me alongside Investcorp Blockchain Fund’s investment in their latest round.”

He adds, “We are pleased to lead the investment in Bit2Me, a leading player in the digital asset space. Bit2Me is well positioned to capitalize on the growth in this rapidly evolving market, and Investcorp will actively support its strong management team. Very much looking forward to witnessing Bit2Me’s international growth as the best is yet to come!”

Investcorp becomes the second firm based out of GCC to invest in a crypto exchange, prior to that MEVP invested in Bahrain’s RAIN crypto exchange. The round was led by Middle East Venture Partners (MEVP), with participation of other global investors at the time.

Saudi Nuqtah NFT marketplace raises millions of dollars from Blockchain Polygon and Animoca brands

Saudi Nuqtah NFT marketplace raises millions of dollars from Blockchain Polygon and Animoca brands

Saudi’s first NFT marketplace platform, Nuqtah has raised a seed round of millions of dollars from Blockchain platform Polygon and Animoca Brands. As per the release the new funding will scale Nuqtah’s business over the next 12 months.

In 2022, Nuqtah had announced it was planning to raise $5 million in upcoming seed rounds.

Licensed by the Saudi Ministry of Communication and Information technology and the Ministry of Investment, Nuqtah aims to to empower its creators, businesses, and users to unlock the new opportunities that the Web3 space offers to the region. Nuqtah allows individuals and businesses to easily build, deploy and monetize NFT collections without having to navigate complicated blockchain infrastructure.

Yat Siu, the executive chairman and co-founder of Animoca Brands, commented: “Our investment into Nuqtah is another meaningful step in our commitment to build up the Web3 industry in MENA as well as develop our own capabilities in the region. Nuqtah is an important pioneer and we anticipate that it will greatly help to boost Web3 and NFT adoption in the Middle East. We will continue to expand our operational presence and collaborate with local strategic partners looking to adopt Web3.”

In February of this year Nuqtah signed an MOU with Saudi telecom group to tokenize photographs fro STC’s Sarha project. 

Nuqtah is helmed by Salwa Radwi, an award-winning photographer, artist, and Web3 and blockchain advocate. In 2021 she founded Nuqtah to serve as the first-of-its-kind blockchain technology provider and developer in the MENA region, making her one of the first female founders and CEOs in Saudi Arabia’s NFT landscape. Salwa is joined by co-founders who previously worked at major companies including Careem and Oracle, and whose extensive industry experience has enabled Nuqtah to become a prominent and respected advocate of Web3 in the Kingdom.

Salwa Radwi, founder and CEO of Nuqtah, noted in the release, “Watching Animoca Brands pioneer and enable the Web3 scene since day one has been so inspirational, and so we take great pride in the trust placed in Nuqtah through this investment. We look forward to working together to unlock the massive potential and opportunities in the Middle East.”

Speaking to LaraontheBlock, Salwa Radwi confirmed that the latest seed investment raises millions of dollars. She states, “ This new round of investment will open new lines of opportunities, not only financially but also through animoca and polygons extravagant network.”

Nuqtah had raised close to a million dollars in its pre-seed round from Shorooq Partners, according to Radwi.  At that time Nuqtah planned to build on the thriving NFTs space, and utilize the underlying blockchain technology to spearhead innovation in other verticals such as media and entertainment.

Animoca Brands, the creator of sandbox metaverse and other Web3 projects has been very interested in the MENA region. It announced it would be entering Dubai through its metaverse Dubaiverse, and it also signed an MOU with Saudi government at beginning of 2023. 

FLUUS crypto payment startup founded by MENA crypto enthusiasts raises $600,000

FLUUS crypto payment startup founded by MENA crypto enthusiasts raises $600,000

Crypto payment startup FLUUS ( which means money in Arabic) founded by MENA crypto enthusiasts has raised $600,000 ahead of its beta launch. FHS Capital, Base 64 and a number of angel investors participated in the raise.

FLUUS is creating a fiat-crypto on- and off-ramp that will give consumers access to web3 services including token swapping and staking. Its payment solution is designed to eliminate friction and simplify the process of entering and exiting the crypto economy.

Funds raised from the seed round will be used to further develop products and roll out FLUUS’ services, bringing crypto-fiat payments to a global audience.

“We are excited to have the support of FHS Capital and Encryptus.io, two highly reputable investment firms,” said Tey El-Rjula, co-founder and CEO of FLUUS. “Their experience and resources will be invaluable as we continue to grow and scale our business to provide financial technology solutions to onboard the next billion into web3.”

Dr. Fady and Mr. Hesham Hannah-Shmouni, Managing Partners at FHS Capital, stated,“Our investment in FLUUS fits perfectly with our vision for empowering exceptional founders and technologies in the web3 space, enabling customers and partners across key industry verticals to benefit from using blockchain technology.”

More than $1 million in cryptocurrency has already been successfully off-ramped in a private trial of FLUUS’ payment gateway. Funds were used to provide aid in Ukraine with the support of an international NGO. The next development phase will see the beta version of FLUUS’ payment solution opened to a broader market segment.

A number of major partnerships are already in place that will see FLUUS’ payment solution rolled out to millions of web users. These include matchmaking platform Dua.com and the GD10 Ventures ecosystem. The FLUUS payment widget can be easily embedded into third party websites and applications, providing crypto-fiat changing on demand.

FLUUS at present features two flagship products, FLUUS Pay: A regulated and compliant crypto ramping service delivered in collaboration with fintech operators and money transfer networks, and FLUUS Auth: An SDK that allows developers to easily integrate secure and user-friendly sign-up and web3 onboarding into their own applications.

FLUUS was founded in March 2022 with the goal of building solutions that will enhance global access to web3, particularly in emerging markets.  To the FLUUS founders, interoperability between financial systems is vital. This is especially important in emerging markets. With FLUUS, users can seamlessly on and off ramp digital currencies using their most convenient payment methods including cash and mobile money. 

As a pioneer in digital payment solutions, FLUUS Pay with its public beta launch expected to handle 62.82% of all crypto ramping in Lebanon by Q4 2023. In January 2023, 30% of all ramping in Lebanon was already done through FLUUS Pay, highlighting the platform’s success in providing a user-friendly, secure, and efficient way to buy and sell cryptocurrencies.

UAE VC Funds among strategic investors in the $20 million round for Saudi and UAE Web3 metaverse company

UAE VC Funds among strategic investors in the $20 million round for Saudi and UAE Web3 metaverse company

UAE Dubai Future District Fund, e&Capital ( formerly known as etisalat group) as well as other well renowned VC funds have invested $20 million in Web3 metaverse social app content provider VUZ. The series B investment round included international investors such as Caruso Ventures, Vision Ventures VC Fund, SRMG , Panthera Capital, Faith Capital and Webit Investment network.

In addition to the new investors, VUZ formerly known as 360VUZ is backed by investors such as Knollwood Investment Advisory, AlTouq Group, Impact46, UAE Shorooq Partners, KBW Ventures, Media Visions, Hala Ventures, 500Startups, DAI, Al Falaj, Magnus Olsson, Samih Toukan, Jonathan Labin, DTEC Ventures, Plug and Play Ventures, Al Rashid family and other strategic angel investors.

With this round, VUZ is now backed by a mix of investors based in the US and EMEA that will play a major role in supporting VUZ in its international expansion.

VUZ bridges the gap between the physical and virtual worlds to offer premium immersive content library in the world with more than 20,000 hours of immersive content covering entertainment, creators, and sports segments, and XR, VR, and AR experiences from virtually anywhere in the world. VUZ’s vision is bringing people together and connecting the world by providing authentic immersive experiences while removing the constraints of (TTA) Travel, Time, and Access to billions of people around the world.

Khaled Zaatarah, the founder of VUZ, stated,  “Our mission is to build a hyper connected product to teleport, empower, and entertain millions of users globally. We are very thankful to have some of the strongest international investors as part of our journey to build a global social immersive platform while leading the new technology revolution, accelerating the future of media and trends such as the Metaverse, and XR (AR and VR) while building strong sustainable growth.”

The funds will be used to fuel VUZ’s expansion plans in growing its core, accelerate the growth of 10% growth month over month in its recurring subscription revenue, investing in top content, hiring additional key senior hires, new social features, launching Web3 products, NFT projects to own and trade virtual assets derived from the metaverse and scaling with asset-light operations into 8 additional new international markets, following its partnership and integration with 45 Telecom Operators globally.

Zaatarah  adds, “Our plans for the future are 10X stronger than what we have been building for the past 6 years. We have built the base and now we are ready for sustainable scalability and growth at a scale-up stage. Special thanks to everyone that believed in us and to every member of our team.”

 The extended reality immersive platform VUZ reached over 1 Billion Screen Views and is aiming to reach 3 Billion Screen Views in 2023.

VUZ, an Endeavor global network company built a lean and scalable business model providing an important revenue mix, driving value as well as growth and has strong plans to scale its platform. Some of the mega plans for VUZ is building on its current IOS and Android social mobile applications are new features such as the video immersive live chatting, social in-app gifting, social commerce for creators, creators monetization and gamification plans, XR virtual technology, launching it’s SDK, scaling on the full ecosystem with META/Oculus and Qualcomm, Immersive Avatars, as well as launching its Web Platform that is expected to reach 2Bn Screen Views per year, and its Smart TV platform.

Kushal Shah, Head of Venture Capital, e& capital, commented “We are excited about investing in a tech company like VUZ that supports the creation of virtual content as well as enables futuristic immersive experiences. This is in line with our commitment to collaborate with visionary tech businesses that we believe will contribute to building a better and brighter digital future. We will continue to invest into the company’s success, partnering with them to help them achieve growth and enable meaningful progress that moves this digital world forward.”

India based NFT startup raises $3.26 million with participation of UAE investors

India based NFT startup raises $3.26 million with participation of UAE investors

Artfi, a non-fungible token (NFT) focused startup, has raised $3.26 million from several investors including Sheikha Hend Al Qassemi, a member of the ruling family of Emirate of Sharjah, and Raza Beig, director of Landmark Group, UAE.

The current funding was raised at a valuation of $100 million. Artfi is on a mission to democratize the fine art space by fractionizing high-value artworks into limited editions NFTs.

The NFTs will be minted on the polygon network. The fine art fintech company is now gearing up for whitelisting for its first fine art NFT offering from August and is also working towards developing a museum in the metaverse where the art collection will be always accessible.

Asif Kamal, Founder of Artfi stated that the company will use the investment funds to build its technology and a dedicated marketplace for fine art NFTs. A portion of the funds will also be deployed to strengthen its product and team.

Kamal stated in an interview, “Artfi was launched with a vision to make art accessible to everyone. People can now invest in fine art with a very nominal investment and can liquidate it whenever they need to by using the secondary marketplace. At the end of the day, the company will re-sell the art that the Artfi Museum holds on behalf of NFT owners and share the profit with each NFT holder who owns shares in the painting. This is an opportunity for people to now diversify their portfolios from stocks, fixed deposits etc. and invest in one of the largest asset classes that have outperformed all these traditional investments for over 30 years.”

Artfi has already onboarded paintings from eminent personalities including contemporary British artist Sacha Jafri and Indian abstract artist VS Gaitonde.