UAE - Mubasher: The Presight-Shorooq Fund I, a $100 million global AI innovation fund, has invested in five AI startups across the US and UAE in its first quarter (Q1) of operations.
The fund targets high-potential AI companies led by experienced alumni from DeepMind, Google X, Meta, and Stanford, according to a press release.
The initial portfolio includes NodeShift, Candid, Hebbia, Blue, and Crunched, covering sectors from sovereign AI cloud and voice AI to vertical intelligence platforms for finance and construction.
The investments are backed by top-tier venture capital firms and angel investors, including Andreessen Horowitz, Index Ventures, Google Ventures, Quiet Capital, First Round Capital, Y Combinator, Yann LeCun, Paul Graham, and Peter Thiel.
The strategy focuses on AI-native products with defensible data, distribution leverage, or infrastructure control.
Bilal Baloch, Partner at Shorooq, who is leading the fund, commented: “When we launched this fund, our vision was to connect world-class AI innovators with the capital, regulatory support, and market access that our region offers.”
“To have invested in five highly promising companies, after assessing over 1000, outside our home market alongside leading peers in the US and Asia in 120 days is a marker toward that vision,” Baloch added.
He emphasized: “We were most impressed that these founders are pushing the boundaries of what AI can do—from giving every app a voice interface to automating billion-dollar industries—and thereby allowing us to back varying theses across the AI stack.”
“This is just the beginning; we believe the fund can be a bridge between East and West for AI, and we’re committed to accelerating more breakthroughs that will transform businesses and communities,” Baloch concluded.
