Arab Startups: July Funding Slows Down, But AI and FinTech Still Shine

The startup market in the Arab region experienced a relatively quiet period for announced investments in July 2026. New funding totaled just $59 million across 23 deals, mainly due to the absence of the large investment rounds that typically boost the market's overall value in previous periods.

Data on announced investments in Arab startups shows that the drop in funding value during July isn't linked to a significant decrease in deal activity. Instead, it's primarily because there weren't any huge investment rounds like those seen in earlier months, which directly impacted the total monthly funding.

Keyper topped the list of largest deals in July, securing an $11 million investment. Labby and Epic Markets followed, each receiving $10 million in funding. Meanwhile, Think's investment round exceeded $8 million.

Month-over-month, the total value of announced investments in July fell by about 83% compared to June 2026, which saw $348.48 million in funding. This was largely driven by a massive $250 million investment deal for CargoX, leading to an exceptional surge in the previous month's total funding.

Year-over-year, investment values also dropped by approximately 92% compared to July 2025, which recorded $709 million in funding. That strong performance was boosted by several major rounds, most notably Ninja's $254 million funding and XPANCEO's $250 million, alongside investments in Huspy and Calo, valued at $59 million and $39 million respectively.

Deal Activity Remains Steady

Despite the significant decrease in investment value, deal activity remained close to the previous month's level. July 2026 saw 23 deals, compared to 24 deals in June, a minor decrease of just one deal, or about 4%.

However, the number of deals did see a year-over-year decline of about 32% compared to July 2025, which recorded 34 deals. This reflects a relative slowdown in investment pace compared to the same period last year.

This trend reveals that investors are still interested in startups in the region, but their focus is shifting more towards medium and smaller funding rounds. This is a change from relying on the massive deals that were the main drivers of investment value growth during certain periods.

Super Apps and Artificial Intelligence Lead the Way

Looking at sectors, multi-service "Super Apps" led in terms of investment value in July 2026, raising about $12 million across two deals, representing 20.3% of total funding.

The Artificial Intelligence (AI) sector came in second, with investments totaling $11.7 million, making up about 19.8% of total funding through three deals. This shows continued investor interest in companies developing AI-powered solutions.

PropTech (real estate technology) ranked third with $11 million in investments, accounting for 18.6% of total funding across three deals. Meanwhile, FinTech (financial technology) secured $10 million, or 16.9% of the total, through two deals.

The funding landscape in July reflects a continued investor focus on sectors linked to digital transformation, financial services, and artificial intelligence. This trend persists despite the overall drop in investment value due to the absence of giant investment rounds, indicating ongoing startup development and business model expansion in the Arab market.