FAST Ventures has launched the FAST Foundry Fund, a $3 million venture studio program aimed at early stage founders across the Middle East and North Africa. The initiative focuses on startups working in AI, adtech, retail commerce technology, marketing automation, and creator economy tools. According to the firm, the fund will be operated through FAST Ventures locations in Dubai Internet City and Riyadh, offering capital coupled with engineering, design, and go to market support.
Unlike conventional pre seed funds, the FAST Foundry Fund runs on a studio model in which selected startups receive hands on operational services alongside financial support. FAST Ventures’ network of ecosystem companies such as Platformance, Lion, and Calibrate will provide growth marketing, AI content development, and digital commerce engineering resources. Similar models used by international venture studios like Atomic and Science Inc. have produced notable startups including Hims & Hers and Liquid Death, demonstrating the scalability of studio driven early stage development.
FAST Ventures notes that early stage companies in the MENA region often face obstacles that extend beyond capital, with many failing to scale due to limited demand generation and costly commercial operations. The Foundry Fund is structured to mitigate these issues by offering infrastructure that emerging teams typically lack. This concept aligns with recent shifts in the region’s startup support landscape, including new programs from Hub71 and Saudi based venture building initiatives, which have moved toward more operational and post product support.
The firm states that its mission with the new fund is to accelerate “homegrown IP” capable of competing internationally while remaining rooted in the needs of MENA markets. Applications for the FAST Foundry Fund are currently open to early stage, product driven startups across sectors such as AI driven marketing tools, retail media, and creator economy infrastructure.
The launch arrives at a time when investment activity in MENA’s AI, creator, and digital commerce sectors continues to rise, driven by expanding ecosystems in the UAE and Saudi Arabia. With the introduction of the FAST Foundry Fund, FAST Ventures broadens the region’s early stage support options by providing not only capital but also the practical execution capabilities that many young startups require to reach scale.
FAST Ventures launches $3 million FAST Foundry Fund for MENA startups