Startups (opens original source in a new tab)WamdaCyfr Capital backs five Omani startups in new Seed Fund investmentsOman-based venture capital firm Cyfr Capital has completed investments in five Omani startups through its Seed Fund, in collaboration with Future Fund Oman. The investments went to Sooq Cars, iO Eats, Darrbak, Decoil and Pack’N, spanning automotive commerce, food delivery, tourism, AI and data, and food packaging and storage. Sooq Cars operates an automotive marketplace with more than one million users, while iO Eats runs a food delivery platform supported by cloud kitchens across six loca (opens original source in a new tab)20 August 2026
Startups (opens original source in a new tab)WamdaAILA raises $3 million pre-Series A to expand personalised learning platformSaudi Arabia-based edtech company AILA has raised $3 million in a pre-Series A round led by Rua Growth Fund, with participation from Jo Academy, 500 Global, Bunat VC and Fikr Ventures. Founded in 2023 by Yousef Alsayed, Nouf Mugayel and Abdulaziz Bin Mugayel, AILA develops AI-powered personalised learning technology that identifies students’ learning gaps and provides tailored assessment, practice and performance insights. The funding will be used to expand into regional and international (opens original source in a new tab)20 August 2026
Startups (opens original source in a new tab)WamdaVoice AI startup HeyBreez raises $2.5 million Seed roundMENA-born enterprise voice AI startup HeyBreez has raised $2.5 million in an oversubscribed Seed round led by Lunara Partners, with participation from Jabbar Group, DASH Ventures and angel investors. Founded in 2025 by Karim Malhas and headquartered in Delaware, with offices in Amman and Dubai, HeyBreez provides infrastructure for deploying and managing enterprise voice AI agents, including telephony, callbacks, follow-ups, integrations and other workflows around voice interactions. The company (opens original source in a new tab)20 August 2026
(opens original source in a new tab)South China Morning PostArmed with funding boost, SpaceSail accelerates China’s push to rival Elon Musk’s StarlinkIn a record funding round for China’s satellite internet sector, domestic start-up SpaceSail has raised around 7 billion yuan (US$1 billion) to accelerate the buildout of a low-Earth-orbit (LEO) network designed to compete with Elon Musk’s Starlink project. Known officially as Shanghai Spacecom Satellite Technology, the operator of China’s Qianfan constellation completed its Series B round on Monday, according to a notice published on the website of the Shanghai United Assets and Equity... (opens original source in a new tab)Ben Jiang·20 August 2026
(opens original source in a new tab)YourStoryP3C is making solar modules from perovskite, a material that could replace siliconThe Gurugram-based company produces perovskite modules on glass and on flexible substrates and has had its cell efficiency certified by the National Institute of Solar Energy. (opens original source in a new tab)20 August 2026
(opens original source in a new tab)YourStoryIndi Energy makes sodium-ion batteries with an anode built from farm wasteThe IIT Roorkee spin-off produces its own hard carbon, cathode and electrolyte, and is aiming at the lead-acid batteries that still power much of India. (opens original source in a new tab)20 August 2026
(opens original source in a new tab)YourStoryQuarkitech shrinks sensor data before it ever leaves the droneThe Chennai-based company builds compression software that cuts the volume of data a sensor produces at the source, for platforms where bandwidth and power are limited. (opens original source in a new tab)20 August 2026
(opens original source in a new tab)YourStoryKshatraLabs is building a drone that catches other dronesThe Bengaluru-based company develops autonomous aerial interceptors designed to detect, track and bring down hostile unmanned aircraft, including swarms. (opens original source in a new tab)20 August 2026
(opens original source in a new tab)YourStoryNaxion Energy builds sodium-ion storage systems that aim to replace lead-acid inverters and diesel generatorsThe Hyderabad-based company makes battery, inverter and solar control in a single unit at its Coimbatore plant, for homes, businesses and industrial sites. (opens original source in a new tab)20 August 2026
Industry News (opens original source in a new tab)AGBIDP World expands logistics space in Southeast AsiaDP World is expanding its warehouse capacity across Southeast Asia as part of its global expansion strategy. The government-owned company has opened the first of two planned warehouses in Malaysia and intends to enter the Philippines and Thailand before the end of the year. The 11,514-square-metre warehouse is in the Johor-Singapore Special Economic Zone, which […] (opens original source in a new tab)Pramod Kumar·20 August 2026
(opens original source in a new tab)YourStoryTechno Defence makes a ten-gram cooler that India previously had to importThe Mumbai company has developed a miniature cryogenic cooler for infrared sensors, built with DRDO support and handed over for trials. (opens original source in a new tab)20 August 2026
(opens original source in a new tab)CoinDeskTrader who made $49 million shorting crypto lost $24 million on ether in 12 secondsThe Hyperliquid wallet known as pension-usdt.eth was forced out of a 50,000 ETH short as ether surged, with five liquidation orders helping push the price higher during the unwind. (opens original source in a new tab)Shaurya Malwa·20 August 2026
