- What
- Venture studio of FAST Ventures; invests from a US$3M fund in early-stage MENA startups.
- Who
- Early-stage founders in Saudi Arabia and MENA building adtech, creator, AI or marketing tools.
- From abroad
- Within the region: Early-stage startups across Saudi Arabia and MENA All programmes open to founders from abroad →
Checked · October 2026 · foundry.wearefast.io · How we check ↗
See Fast Foundry (FAST Ventures) on the map next to the other 110 programmes in the UAE — and filter the whole Gulf by type, deadline and equity.
Open the map →In detail
Fast Foundry (FAST Ventures) is a corporate venture studio and fund in the UAE. Venture studio and fund of FAST, the Dubai marketing and growth group (202 Emmay Tower, Dubai Internet City). Fast Foundry invests up to US$3 million in early-stage startups across Saudi Arabia and MENA - founders building adtech, creator, AI and marketing products - and takes them through five stages from 'Foundry Fit' and a go-to-market plan to launch, growth operations and a milestone review. Founders get workspace at FAST Ventures HQ, engineering, marketing and go-to-market support from FAST's agencies, cloud credits and legal, finance and back-office help. Applications go through the 'Start Your Application' form (idea, MVP, revenue or pre-seed/seed stage); ticket size per startup and equity terms are not published.
- Amount
- US$3 million fund · ticket size per startup not published
- Eligibility
- Early-stage founders across Saudi Arabia and MENA building adtech, creator, AI or marketing products · application form accepts idea, MVP, revenue and pre-seed/seed stage
- Sectors
- Adtech, creator, AI and marketing products
- B2C fintech, proptech, traveltech, edtech
- B2B AI-native marketing, retail and commerce media, creator commerce
- Benefits
- Workspace at FAST Ventures HQ, Dubai Internet City
- engineering, marketing and go-to-market support from Platformance, Lion, PerformR and Radius
- AWS, Google Cloud and other cloud credits
- legal, finance and back-office help
- Status
- Open — 'Start Your Application' form on the Fast Foundry site (checked October 2026)
Is this for you?
Where is your company?
Are you open to giving equity?
We match them against what Fast Foundry (FAST Ventures) publishes.
A guide to the published criteria, not a decision — the programme selects.
What the source says
“Fast Foundry is investing up to US$3m in early stage start ups across Saudi Arabia and MENA.”
“You are backed by a $3 million fund and plugged directly into the FAST Ventures ecosystem.”
“We operate as a venture studio, filling the gap between early concept support, market validation, and guaranteed customer adoption at scale.”
“We back founders who are creating the next wave of Adtech, creator, AI and marketing products with global potential.”
“We back early-stage founders solving real problems — where tech meets culture, commerce, and creativity.”
“Sectors We Focus On | B2C | FinTech & Personal Financial Wellness | PropTech & Consumer Real Estate | TravelTech & Experience Discovery | EdTech & Skills-Based Learning | B2B | AI-Native Marketing & Media Agents | Retail & Commerce Media Infrastructure | Creator Commerce & Influencer Infrastructure”
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Compare corporate VCs in the UAE
| Cost | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Fast Foundry (FAST Ventures)Venture studio of FAST Ventures; invests from a US$3M fund in early-stage MENA startups. | not published | Equity | Open |
| Al Fardan VenturesDirect equity investment from early stage to growth. | not published | Equity | Active |
| Dubizzle Group VenturesDubizzle Group's early-stage investment arm for property, auto and re-commerce startups. | not published | Equity | Open |
| Emirates NBD Innovation FundStrategic equity, early to growth stage. | not published | Equity | Active |
| Strategic Development Fund (SDF)VC tickets of $10–35M for early- and mid-stage frontier tech; venture debt via UAE banks. | $10–35M | Equity | Active |
| The Greenhouse — Chalhoub Group Startup StudioChalhoub venture studio; co-builds retail-tech ventures with capital and pre-seed funding. | not published | Equity | Open |
| ADIB VenturesMinority equity, mainly at Series A, in fintech and financial-technology companies. | not published | Minority equity | Active |
| CBIxBank-backed ventures arm investing in a small number of AI, fintech and Web3 firms. | not published | Not published | Active |
| CE-Ventures (Crescent Enterprises)Corporate venture capital, early to late stage and venture funds. | not published | Equity | Active |
| du Ventures$50M corporate venture fund of telecom operator du, managed by Shorooq. | not published | Equity | Active |
| e& capitalEquity tickets averaging USD 5–30M; around $500M under management and committed. | USD 5–30M | Equity | Active |
| G42Builds and holds AI companies strategically; not an open-application funder. | not published | Equity | Active |
| NeoVentures (Mashreq)Corporate venture capital from Mashreq's fund. | not published | Equity | Active |
Highest amount in each programme’s own “What” line. Other currencies converted for sorting only (Gulf pegs; KWD, EUR, GBP approximate).
Questions founders ask
What does Fast Foundry (FAST Ventures) offer?
Venture studio of FAST Ventures; invests from a US$3M fund in early-stage MENA startups.
Does Fast Foundry (FAST Ventures) take equity?
Equity.
Can founders from abroad apply?
Within the region: Early-stage startups across Saudi Arabia and MENA.
Is there a deadline?
No closing date is published; applications are open.
How do I apply?
Through its own application form — the Apply button on this page goes straight there.
Sources
Primary source · foundry.wearefast.io · LinkedIn · linkedin.com/company/wearefast · Checked October 2026