Velents.ai, an Egyptian–Saudi artificial intelligence startup, has secured $1.5 million as it unveils Agent.sa, described as the first fully Arabic-speaking AI employee for businesses across the Middle East.
Founded in 2021 by Mohamed Gaber and Abdulaziz Almuhaydib, Velents.ai initially launched as a smart recruitment platform before pivoting in 2023 to become a full-scale enterprise AI company. Its latest product, Agent.sa, is designed to operate like a digital colleague handling calls, WhatsApp conversations, data analysis, and customer interactions entirely in natural Arabic.
The round drew participation from angel investors, including senior executives from Google, Boston Consulting Group (BCG), and other international firms. Agent.sa can integrate with more than 20 enterprise systems, ranging from CRMs to payment gateways, serving various sectors, including banking, logistics, telecommunications, and retail.
Before its latest raise, Velents had previously closed a special funding round in July 2024, where over 80% of the investment came from women investors through the Women Collective, a regional initiative focused on promoting gender equality in tech investment.
This raise shows a new leap for the emerging Arabic AI ecosystem, which is only beginning to see locally built alternatives to Western language models. Startups such as Maqsam, which provides Arabic-first voice infrastructure and AI-powered contact center tools, have highlighted the demand for technology that understands the region’s dialects and communication culture. Velents.ai, by contrast, goes a step further, positioning its AI not just as a support tool but as a virtual employee capable of executing enterprise tasks autonomously.
Industry observers see this trend as a sign that the Middle East’s AI sector is maturing. The region’s tech ecosystem, spanning Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and the UAE, is moving from importing AI tools to building culturally grounded, Arabic-native systems. Global players like OpenAI, Google, and Anthropic remain primarily English-centric.
