BY Venture Partners Closes $60 Million Fund III for AI Startups

UAE-based venture capital firm BY Venture Partners has closed its third fund at $60 million to back early-stage AI-native startups, bringing its reported assets under management, including co-investment vehicles, to more than $200 million.

Fund III is anchored by Dubai Future District Fund, with participation from MultiLane, Transmed Capital, the Idriss Family Office and other institutional and private investors. The fund will primarily invest up to $1 million per company at the pre-seed to Series A stages, focusing on startups using AI to reshape enterprise workflows.

Deployment is already under way, with 15 investments made toward a planned portfolio of 40 companies. Current investments include PQ Shield, Cosyne, Isometric, Huspy and Invisible.

“The focus of this fund is to back AI-native companies with global ambitions,” said Ghaith Yafi, Founding Partner at BY Venture Partners. He added that the firm is looking to bring international AI companies into the Middle East while connecting them with the region’s technology ecosystem.

Founded in 2015 by Ghaith Yafi, Abdallah Yafi, Rami Jisr and Sohrab Jahanbani, BY Venture Partners invests across more than 16 international markets. Around two-thirds of its capital is deployed outside MENA, primarily across North America and Europe.

Dubai Future District Fund Managing Director Nader Albastaki said the firm’s cross-border model was central to its investment, with BY Venture Partners both bringing international companies into Dubai and helping regional founders access global markets.