UAE’s FAST Ventures Launches $3M FAST Foundry to Support MENA Startups

UAE-based FAST Ventures has introduced FAST Foundry, a $3 million venture studio designed to support early-stage startups across MENA working at the intersection of marketing, technology and consumer behaviour. The launch reflects a push toward original IP in areas where marketing and commerce are rapidly reshaped by AI, creator economies and new retail models.

FAST Foundry will invest in startups developing adtech, retail and creator tools, as well as broader consumer-driven verticals such as fintech, proptech, traveltech and edtech. The studio’s approach blends funding with operational support from FAST Ventures’ ecosystem, giving founders access to engineering, product, marketing and creator teams located across Dubai Internet City and Riyadh.

Much of the region’s marketing infrastructure has historically relied on imported, white-labelled systems, limiting the development of scalable local technology. FAST Foundry aims to shift that dynamic by supporting founders building AI-native marketing agents, commerce media infrastructure and creator-focused platforms rooted in regional insight.

Research showing high early-stage failure rates in MENA underscores the structural gaps the studio is targeting. Its portfolio companies gain access to entities under the FAST umbrella, including Platformance for growth marketing, Lion for AI-driven creative work, and Calibrate for digital commerce support, along with preferred cloud credits and on-call senior talent.

Since 2022, FAST Ventures has built a system of platforms, AI models and services focused on simplifying marketing operations and commercial infrastructure. FAST Foundry extends that system to founders seeking to develop technology with global potential.