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Cairo-Based Foundation Ventures Secures $25M To Back Egypt’s Startups

by THEFUTURE.TEAM

February 3, 2025

Cairo-based venture capital firm Foundation Ventures has successfully raised $25 million for its second fund, FVFII, aimed at supporting early and growth-stage startups in Egypt.

Key Highlights

The new fund has attracted key investors such as the Egyptian American Enterprise Fund (EAEF), the Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprise Development Agency (MSMEDA), and businessman Onsi Sawiris.

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FVFII targets early- and growth-stage Egyptian startups with plans for regional and global expansion. While the primary focus is on Egypt, the fund will also allocate capital to high-potential startups across Africa. It plans to invest in ventures with initial ticket sizes ranging from $750,000 to $1 million.

The fund’s strategy is theme-driven, rather than sector-specific, ensuring flexibility in investment decisions while maintaining a primary focus on the Egyptian market and secondary opportunities in Africa.

Foundation Ventures’ Growth

Foundation Ventures launched its first fund, FVF1 Vintage, in 2019. The firm is led by Mazen Nadim, managing partner, with partners Omar Barakat and Ziyad Hamdy. The company also has a strategic partnership with HOF, a US-based VC firm managing over $1.5 billion in assets under management, serving as a General Partner.

The firm’s portfolio includes promising startups such as Rabbit, Flextock, Swypex, Aydi, Trella, and Abwaab.

Opportunities In Egypt’s Startup Landscape

Nadim noted that Egypt’s devalued currency offers a unique opportunity for startups to leverage the country’s skilled tech talent while positioning Egypt as a cost-efficient testing ground for new ventures.

In 2024, Egypt attracted $334 million across 84 deals, with the fintech sector leading with $237 million invested across 17 fintech startups, according to Wamda and Digital Digest. The logistics sector secured $23.5 million, while e-commerce raised $22.5 million.

Most of the capital came from local investors, with Saudi investors following closely behind. Notable recent investments include a $13 million funding round for Simplex, a CNC machine manufacturing startup, and $22 million raised by Paymob in a Series B extension round, bringing its total Series B funding to $72 million.

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Google Says AI Has Accelerated Chrome Security Patching To Record Levels

Google said its internal AI tools helped identify and fix more security vulnerabilities in the last two Chrome releases than the company patched across the previous two years combined.

In a post published Thursday on its security blog, Google said it fixed 1,072 security bugs in Chrome versions 149 and 150, both released in June. That compares with 1,036 vulnerabilities fixed across the previous 23 Chrome releases.

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Google Expands AI Use In Security

Google outlined its approach in a white paper describing how it uses AI models to identify vulnerabilities and accelerate remediation. The report includes a chart showing a sharp increase in the number of bugs fixed in recent Chrome releases.

The company refers to each Chrome release as a “milestone.” Chrome version 126 was released in June 2024, while versions 149 and 150 shipped last month.

Company Says AI Speeds Vulnerability Detection

Doug Turner, Chrome’s director of engineering, said large language models have “fundamentally shifted the economics of cybersecurity” by automating vulnerability discovery.

“By applying models like Gemini, we are preemptively fixing vulnerabilities, outpacing our adversaries and making Chrome safer with every update,” Turner said.

Microsoft Also Reports More Security Fixes

Google is not the only technology company reporting higher numbers of security patches alongside broader AI adoption. Earlier this month, Microsoft said it fixed a record 570 vulnerabilities during its monthly Patch Tuesday release and cited its use of AI as one factor behind the increase.

Apple has not reported a comparable increase. According to an independent vulnerability tracker, the company has fixed 482 security flaws in 2026 so far, a total broadly in line with previous years.