Phaze Ventures launches two AI funds targeting over $75 million

Phaze Ventures launches two AI funds that aim to raise $75M between them. The Oman-headquartered venture capital firm announced the two vehicles in late October 2026 with a combined target of more than $75 million. It has secured more than $40 million in investor commitments to date and has already deployed more than $10 million across 10 companies. Phaze Ventures Fund II continues the firm’s global early-stage AI and deeptech mandate. It is anchored by ITHCA Group, a subsidiary of Oman Investment Authority, along with Ominvest and the Oman LNG Development Foundation. Phaze Ventures Oman Fund is a dedicated pool for homegrown AI-enabled businesses and is anchored by Future Fund Oman. The firm has not disclosed the individual targets for each fund or the precise split between the global and Oman-focused vehicles. Fundraising discussions are continuing. The first 10 investments include Arabic.AI , Sully.ai , Andromeda Surgical, Boardy.ai and Metal. Co-investors in those companies include a16z, 8VC, Standard Capital, Y Combinator and Baidu Ventures. Arabic.AI builds Arabic-language enterprise AI tools. Andromeda Surgical develops AI-guided surgical robotics. The portfolio spans enterprise software, healthcare and other applied AI categories. Phaze Ventures manages capital for more than 50 investors, including sovereign entities, listed companies, corporates and family offices across Oman, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, India and other markets. It was founded in 2018 by Abdullah Al Shaksy, Mohammed Al Wahaibi and Masoud Al Rawahi and describes itself as Oman’s first dedicated private venture capital firm. Abdullah Al Shaksy, co-founder and chief executive, said AI is the most disruptive technology shift of the generation and that Oman and the Gulf cannot afford to remain spectators or limit participation to investments in hyper-scalers, data centers and public-market offerings. He said the firm needs to back founders who are disrupting industries at home and globally, and to do so early. Masoud Al Rawahi, co-founder and partner, said the firm backs founders who combine domain expertise with strong engineering and learn from real-world deployments. The structure separates capital by geography and purpose. Fund II invests in early-stage AI and deep-tech companies with emphasis on GCC and North American markets. The Oman Fund focuses on domestic AI-enabled businesses in sectors such as energy, logistics, finance and healthcare. This dual approach gives institutional Omani capital exposure to international AI companies while also directing a dedicated pool toward local founders. The launch coincides with Oman’s development of the International Financial Centre of Oman, an initiative intended to attract international companies and investors. More than $40 million is committed, not closed. The $75 million figure is a target, not capital already raised. Individual fund sizes, final closing dates, management fees, carried interest and the exact amount allocated to Omani startups were not disclosed. The firm has not published a full list of limited partners beyond the named anchors or the valuation terms of the 10 investments already made. Previous reporting noted that Phaze Ventures raised a $30 million fund in 2021. If Phaze Ventures later reports a final close near or above the $75 million target, names additional limited partners, or discloses how much of the capital is deployed into Oman-based companies versus international ones, the scale of the platform will be clearer. If subsequent updates only restate the $40 million committed and the 10 investments without further closings or deployment figures, the funds will remain at the stage of partial commitments and early portfolio construction. The figures missing from the current announcement are the individual fund targets, the portion of the $40 million already drawn, and any timeline for reaching the full $75 million. Without those, the launch establishes fundraising progress and an initial portfolio but does not yet show the final size or the geographic allocation of capital.