Phaze Ventures gathers $40 million for two funds in Muscat, a dual Omani track linking local AI with global deep tech
Phaze Ventures, based in the Omani capital Muscat, has closed financial commitments exceeding $40 million across two new investment funds, while continuing to raise capital toward its total target of $75 million. This move comes as Oman seeks to strengthen its position in the global and local artificial intelligence and deep-tech ecosystem, alongside the development of the Global Financial Center Oman as a platform to attract international companies and investors.
The company adopted a dual financing structure that separates two tracks with defined priorities. The first track is represented by Phaze Ventures Fund II, dedicated to investing in global artificial intelligence and deep-tech companies, and its main investors include the Idkhaa Group of the Omani Investment Authority, Ominvest (the Omani International Development and Investment Company), and the development foundation of the Omani Liquefied Natural Gas Company. The second track is led by Phaze Ventures Oman, which focuses on supporting and developing AI-backed startups within the Sultanate, and is sponsored by the Oman Future Fund as a principal investor.
The two funds moved beyond theoretical commitments by deploying over $10 million across ten technology companies, covering applications in surgical robotics, healthcare management, and enterprise solutions.The initial investment package included Arabic.AI, which develops enterprise AI solutions in Arabic; Sully.ai, which automates workflow in the healthcare sector; Andromeda Surgical, which advances AI-guided robotic surgery; as well as Boardy.ai and Metal, platforms for venture financing rounds. The company participated in these rounds alongside prominent international investors, including a16z, Y Combinator, 8VC, Baidu Ventures, and Standard Capital.
Abdullah Al-Shaqsi, co-founder and CEO, notes that artificial intelligence represents the most radical technological shift of our generation, emphasizing that Oman and the Gulf cannot remain spectators, nor can their involvement be limited to catching up through late-stage investment in major cloud providers, data centers, and public stock markets; early investment in founders reshaping industries locally and globally is essential.
This executive model presents a tangible reality for entrepreneurs and development teams in the Gulf, Egypt, and the Arab Levant. Over recent years, founders of complex technologies such as robotics and intelligent medical systems have struggled to secure venture funding that accommodates long research and development cycles, forcing regional teams either to retreat to lightweight software applications or to migrate entirely to North American incubators. The presence of a locally backed arm, supported by sovereign institutions and international investment networks, offers regional founders strategic capital along with pathways for integration and commercial partnerships in global markets without having to abandon their base in the region.
We see in this step a practical signal for technology leaders and investment offices in the region; relying solely on expanding the hard infrastructure of data centers and computing capacity is insufficient to build sustainable tech sovereignty unless it is paired with early and direct stakes in intellectual property and application models that drive those systems.