The Scoop
Dubai- and London-based startup 1001 has raised $30 million from investors including US venture firm Lux Capital and Saudi sovereign wealth fund unit Sanabil, as it looks to use AI to boost the efficiency of the region’s aviation, ports, and energy infrastructure.
The funding round was led by Lux, with participation from 9Yards, Hanabi, and Sanabil.
The Iran war had “zero impact” on fundraising discussions, Bilal Abu-Ghazaleh, founder and CEO of 1001, told Semafor. The conflict has also driven more firms to look for ways to use AI to help build new supply chains and lower costs at a time when the region is looking to diversify away from a reliance on the Strait of Hormuz, he said.
1001 plans to work with the Gulf’s airlines, port operators, and shipping companies, temporarily embedding engineers in their offices to help fix operational problems and develop new AI-enabled products. Abu-Ghazaleh said governments across the region are pushing businesses to adopt the technology, creating an opening for startups that are focused on practical applications.
“The Middle East is not necessarily going to compete in terms of frontier models, but in terms of applied AI, it’s a bit of a green space,” said Abu-Ghazaleh.
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Abu-Ghazaleh, who left ScaleAI last year to found 1001, said his ambition is to develop AI products for the Gulf’s critical infrastructure companies and then sell them to international customers. That expansion beyond the Gulf could begin within the next 12 months, he said.
The company raised $9 million in its seed round in October. Abu-Ghazaleh declined to disclose 1001’s valuation after the latest fundraise.
Gulf countries have been investing aggressively in AI, betting that the technology will help them diversify their economies and position them as hubs for data processing and new businesses that can export their products to global customers.
Investment funds and startups in the region, along with sovereign-backed entities, have so far continued to raise money to invest despite the Iran war and attacks on Gulf countries.