Algebra AI, a United Arab Emirates-based artificial intelligence startup, has raised $7 million from a group of regional and international investors to deliver managed AI services tailored to mid-sized businesses across the Gulf.
The company, backed by Infinity Constellation, BECO Capital, Silicon Badia and Waseel Investments, is launching with a focus on companies that are often underserved by both off-the-shelf software and costly enterprise-grade AI systems. Its clients already span sectors including financial services, manufacturing, food and beverage, and distribution.
Founded by former Deliveroo Middle East executive Anis Harb, Algebra AI is positioning itself as an operator rather than a traditional software vendor. Harb previously scaled Deliveroo’s regional business to more than $1 billion in gross transaction value, experience he says exposed a structural gap in how companies adopt technology as they grow.
“There are more than 30,000 mid-market businesses in the GCC, yet the tools available don’t reflect how they actually operate,” Harb said. “They’ve been told AI is for them, but the model hasn’t worked in practice.”
Algebra AI’s approach centers on building customized AI-driven workflows that integrate with a company’s existing systems, approval processes and operational constraints. Unlike software providers that sell licenses, the startup continues to run and refine these systems over time, effectively embedding itself in clients’ operations.
The pitch comes as companies across the Gulf accelerate AI adoption, but face challenges translating experimentation into measurable business outcomes. For mid-sized firms in particular, limited internal technical capacity and high implementation costs have slowed deployment.
Harb argues that AI can fundamentally alter the traditional link between growth and operational complexity — where increased scale typically requires more staff and overhead. “We build systems around how a business actually runs and stay accountable for outcomes,” he said. “That’s a different relationship than SaaS.”
Investors say the model reflects lessons learned from deploying AI inside large organizations. Francis Pedraza, co-founder of Infinity Constellation and founder of Invisible Technologies, said the opportunity lies in operationalizing AI beyond pilot projects.
“Making AI work inside real businesses requires getting into the messy, day-to-day processes,” Pedraza said. “This is about building systems that run continuously, not demos.”
Algebra AI plans to use the funding to expand its client base across the Gulf Cooperation Council and grow its engineering and managed services teams, as competition intensifies among firms seeking to capture the region’s rising demand for applied AI solutions.
The startup is betting that mid-market companies long considered too complex for plug-and-play tools and too small for bespoke enterprise systems could become the next major frontier in the AI services economy.