Intella, an Egyptian deep technology start-up focusing on artificial intelligence has raised $3.4 million in a pre-Series A funding round led by two of Saudi Arabia's biggest venture capital funds.
The start-up is seeking to expand its operations in the Middle East and North Africa and enhance its Arabic speech-to-text service.
Its investment round was led by Al Khobar-based Hala Ventures and Wa’ed Ventures, the venture capital arm of the world's biggest oil exporting company Saudi Aramco, Cairo-based Intella said on Tuesday.
The funders also included Sanabil 500, the start-up accelerator programme under Sanabil Investments, which is owned by the Saudi Public Investment Fund, and the angel investor network of the Insead Business School.
The investment will help Intella, which aims to bridge the gap between the Arab-speaking world and advancements in AI, to enhance its product suite and "solidify its leadership in voice technology innovation", it said.
It will also support Intella's expansion into Saudi Arabia, where it established its headquarters in May, enabling it to tap into the kingdom's growing technology and AI sectors, it said.
"Saudi Arabia is quickly becoming a hub for technological advances. This move fits perfectly with our plans for expansion," Nour Taher, chief executive and co-founder of Intella, said.
One of the start-up's flagship services is Intella Voice, a multi-dialect Arabic transcriber that converts speech to text.
Intella said the service passed through Arabic audio testing lasting more than 30,000 hours, and obtained a 95.73 per cent accuracy rate.
It surpasses industry leaders including Google’s speech-to-text, ChatGPT maker OpenAI’s Whisper, Meta Platform’s SeamlessM4T and IBM's Watson, the company added.
"Our voice technology tailored for Arabic dialects has set new industry benchmarks. And now, we're moving beyond mere transcription, and focusing on audio analytics – including summarisation, sentiment analysis, topic extraction and call scoring," Omar Mansour, co-founder and chief technology officer of Intella, said.
"We're really pushing the boundaries of what AI can do for voice in our region," Mr Mansour said, as Intella seeks to "ensure the region's relevance in global technological trends".
The race for advancements in AI gained significant momentum with the introduction of ChatGPT, the generative AI platform that has highly advanced conversational capabilities.
Intella said it is using its DeepTech expertise to address the rising demand for specialised Arabic voice technology. DeepTech refers to technology that focuses on providing specialised solutions in advanced sectors, including AI, robotics, blockchain and quantum computing.
Saudi Arabia, meanwhile, is in the midst of implementing a digital transformation strategy, part of its Vision 2030 programme that aims to diversify its economy from oil.
Established in 2013, Wa'ed Ventures is a $500 million venture capital firm that promotes economic diversification and new business growth in Saudi Arabia by investing in high-growth tech start-ups across several sectors. It manages a portfolio of more than 60 start-ups.
Other organisations have been building large language models for Arabic, one of the world's most-spoken languages.
In August, an Abu Dhabi-developed artificial intelligence large language model for Arabic was unveiled.
Jais, an open-source bilingual Arabic-English model, was developed by Inception, a unit of Abu Dhabi AI company G42, in partnership with Mohamed bin Zayed University of Artificial Intelligence and Silicon Valley-based Cerebras Systems.
Abu Dhabi's Technology Innovation Institute has also launched its Noor natural language processing model, which combines linguistics, computer science and AI to support machine learning of human language.
Intella is "making significant strides in connecting global AI progress with the needs of the Arab-speaking community, and it's exactly the kind of initiative the region needs right now", said Ali Abussaud, founding managing partner of Hala Ventures.
The burning issue
The internal combustion engine is facing a watershed moment – major manufacturer Volvo is to stop producing petroleum-powered vehicles by 2021 and countries in Europe, including the UK, have vowed to ban their sale before 2040. The National takes a look at the story of one of the most successful technologies of the last 100 years and how it has impacted life in the UAE.
Read part four: an affection for classic cars lives on
Read part three: the age of the electric vehicle begins
Read part one: how cars came to the UAE
Women%E2%80%99s%20T20%20World%20Cup%20Qualifier
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EUAE%20fixtures%3C%2Fstrong%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E25%20April%20%E2%80%93%20Ireland%20v%20UAE*%3Cbr%3E27%20April%20%E2%80%93%20UAE%20v%20Zimbabwe**%3Cbr%3E29%20April%20%E2%80%93%20Netherlands%20v%20UAE*%3Cbr%3E3%20May%20%E2%80%93%20UAE%20v%20Vanuatu*%3Cbr%3E5%20May%20%E2%80%93%20Semi-finals%3Cbr%3E7%20May%20%E2%80%93%20Final%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EUAE%20squad%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EEsha%20Oza%20(captain)%2C%20Al%20Maseera%20Jahangir%2C%20Avanee%20Patel%2C%20Heena%20Hotchandani%2C%20Indhuja%20Nandakumar%2C%20Kavisha%20Kumari%2C%20Khushi%20Sharma%2C%20Lavanya%20Keny%2C%20Mehak%20Thakur%2C%20Rinitha%20Rajith%2C%20Samaira%20Dharnidharka%2C%20Siya%20Gokhale%2C%20Suraksha%20Kotte%2C%20Theertha%20Satish%2C%20Vaishnave%20Mahesh.%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E*Zayed%20Cricket%20Stadium%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E**Tolerance%20Oval%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Paatal Lok season two
Directors: Avinash Arun, Prosit Roy
Stars: Jaideep Ahlawat, Ishwak Singh, Lc Sekhose, Merenla Imsong
Rating: 4.5/5
All Black 39-12 British & Irish Lions
'HIJRAH%3A%20IN%20THE%20FOOTSTEPS%20OF%20THE%20PROPHET'
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EEdited%20by%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Idries%20Trevathan%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPages%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20240%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPublisher%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Hirmer%20Publishers%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EAvailable%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Now%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Tamkeen's offering
- Option 1: 70% in year 1, 50% in year 2, 30% in year 3
- Option 2: 50% across three years
- Option 3: 30% across five years
Ten tax points to be aware of in 2026
1. Domestic VAT refund amendments: request your refund within five years
If a business does not apply for the refund on time, they lose their credit.
2. E-invoicing in the UAE
Businesses should continue preparing for the implementation of e-invoicing in the UAE, with 2026 a preparation and transition period ahead of phased mandatory adoption.
3. More tax audits
Tax authorities are increasingly using data already available across multiple filings to identify audit risks.
4. More beneficial VAT and excise tax penalty regime
Tax disputes are expected to become more frequent and more structured, with clearer administrative objection and appeal processes. The UAE has adopted a new penalty regime for VAT and excise disputes, which now mirrors the penalty regime for corporate tax.
5. Greater emphasis on statutory audit
There is a greater need for the accuracy of financial statements. The International Financial Reporting Standards standards need to be strictly adhered to and, as a result, the quality of the audits will need to increase.
6. Further transfer pricing enforcement
Transfer pricing enforcement, which refers to the practice of establishing prices for internal transactions between related entities, is expected to broaden in scope. The UAE will shortly open the possibility to negotiate advance pricing agreements, or essentially rulings for transfer pricing purposes.
7. Limited time periods for audits
Recent amendments also introduce a default five-year limitation period for tax audits and assessments, subject to specific statutory exceptions. While the standard audit and assessment period is five years, this may be extended to up to 15 years in cases involving fraud or tax evasion.
8. Pillar 2 implementation
Many multinational groups will begin to feel the practical effect of the Domestic Minimum Top-Up Tax (DMTT), the UAE's implementation of the OECD’s global minimum tax under Pillar 2. While the rules apply for financial years starting on or after January 1, 2025, it is 2026 that marks the transition to an operational phase.
9. Reduced compliance obligations for imported goods and services
Businesses that apply the reverse-charge mechanism for VAT purposes in the UAE may benefit from reduced compliance obligations.
10. Substance and CbC reporting focus
Tax authorities are expected to continue strengthening the enforcement of economic substance and Country-by-Country (CbC) reporting frameworks. In the UAE, these regimes are increasingly being used as risk-assessment tools, providing tax authorities with a comprehensive view of multinational groups’ global footprints and enabling them to assess whether profits are aligned with real economic activity.
Contributed by Thomas Vanhee and Hend Rashwan, Aurifer
