Amman, July 11 (Petra) – The Jordan Entrepreneurship Fund (JEF) on Saturday signed a strategic partnership agreement with Saudi Technology Ventures (STV), aimed at empowering the startup ecosystem specializing in artificial intelligence technologies and supporting their growth and expansion in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region.
It was inked by JEF CEO Mohammad Al-Muhtaseb and STV founder and CEO Abdulrahman Trabzouni, in the presence of entrepreneurs and representatives of investment funds in the Jordanian entrepreneurship and technology sector.
The partnership gives entrepreneurs and startups in Jordan a significant strategic advantage by leveraging the support and expertise of STV, one of the largest independent venture capital platforms in the region, with a capital of $100 million (backed by Google), JEF said in a statement.
JEF will focus investment efforts on generative and applied AI, targeting companies that provide innovative software and operational solutions serving various institutions and sectors, it added.
JEF will invest $5 million in STV, which has announced its commitment to investing in Jordanian startups that will establish a partnership leading to the creation of an AI corridor linking Jordan and Saudi Arabia, leveraging STV's AI expertise, its network of relationships, and its direct practical support.
The Jordanian fund confidently enters the second phase of its operations in Jordan with this new investment and partnership with STV, one of the region's leading venture capital funds, given its specialization in investing in cutting-edge technologies and AI, which is experiencing significant global momentum, said Al-Muhtaseb.
In light of the structural transformations in global venture capital markets, JEF is keen to redefine its role as a driver of the innovation economy through strategic regional partnerships, he pledged.
"Our partnership today with STV, which is backed by Google, promotes an integration of the business environment between Amman and Riyadh," he added.
"Such collaboration will directly help to localize AI technology, and is an added value to our entrepreneurial ecosystem, enabling our promising companies to benefit from an international network of relationships and advanced incubators that will propel them towards new horizons of growth," Al-Mohtaseb said.
For his part, Trabzouni said STV believes that AI is not just a passing technological trend, but the infrastructure and primary driver of the future economy.
Investment with the Jordanian fund, he pointed out, reflects a shared vision of integrating exceptional energies and competencies, as both parties will work to turn entrepreneurial ideas from Saudi Arabia and Jordan into giant technological entities capable of competing regionally and globally.
The new partnership is expected to offer significant opportunities for Jordanian startups in the region, as well as leverage STV's collective technical expertise to adopt and utilize AI effectively.
It is particularly relevant, given the Saudi Fund's clear strategy, which is based on the conviction that long-term value in the AI age is no longer tied to building basic language models, but rather to companies that develop applications based on exclusive enterprise data, and offer direct operational solutions to business needs.
The strategy aims to capitalize on opportunities in the AI applications market, which is expected to continue growing in coming years, driven by a growing reliance of organizations on smart solutions to boost productivity and improve operational efficiency.
//Petra//SS
