Intella raises $3.4 Million in Pre-Series funding with HALA Ventures and Wa’ed Leading the charge

In a significant move underscoring the potential of deep tech in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, Intella, an Egyptian deep tech startup, has successfully secured $3.4 million in its pre-Series A funding round. Spearheading this investment are the renowned HALA Ventures and Wa'ed Ventures, the venture capital division of Aramco. Joining them in this round are other noteworthy participants, including Sanabil 500 and the angel network of INSEAD alums, among other investors.

Founded by the visionary duo Nour Altaher and Omar Mansour in 2021, Intella has carved out a niche by providing businesses across various sectors with real-time, on-demand market research. This new capital infusion marks a pivotal point in Intella's journey, paving the way for its expansion into the ever-growing Saudi market. Furthermore, the funds will boost the startup's efforts to develop comprehensive AI models tailored specifically for the MENA region.

Looking back, Intella's progress has been nothing short of impressive. In March 2022, the startup closed its seed round with a commendable $1 million, with Hala Ventures at the forefront and contributions from Falak Startups and Beyond Capital, among others. Highlighting its commitment to the Saudi ecosystem, Intella also transitioned its headquarters from Cairo to Riyadh this year. This relocation signifies a physical move and an ambitious stride forward in their quest to revolutionize regional market research.

Press release:

Intella, a Mena-based deeptech company, has successfully closed a $3.4 million pre-Series A funding round. 

The round was led by HALA Ventures and Wa’ed Ventures, the Kingdom-focused venture capital fund wholly owned by Aramco, with participation from Sanabil 500 and INSEAD's alumni angel network, along with other investors.

The new funding will fuel Intella’s expansion into the Saudi market and support the development of end-to-end AI models localised for the Mena region. This comes especially as they’ve made their strategic decision to relocate their headquarters, tapping into the kingdom’s growing tech and AI scene.

"Saudi Arabia is quickly becoming a hub for technological advances. This move fits perfectly with our plans for expansion," said Nour Taher, CEO and Co-founder of Intella.

As part of their ongoing efforts to refine their technology, Intella put their system through testing of over 30,000 hours of Arabic audio. Intella Voice resulted in a 95.73 per cent accuracy rate, surpassing established tech leaders like Google’s speech-to-text, Open AI’s whisper, Meta’s seamless M4T, and IBM Watson.

Omar Mansour, Co-founder and CTO of Intella, 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 summarization, sentiment analysis, topic extraction, and call scoring. We're really pushing the boundaries of what AI can do for voice in our region."

Ali Abussaud, Founding Managing Partner of HALA Ventures commented, "We're excited to back Intella's vision. They're 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."

Intella's mission is to bridge the gap between the Arab-speaking world and AI advancements, ensuring the region's relevance in global technological trends.

With the infusion of new funds, Intella is primed to broaden its footprint in the region, enhance its product suite, and solidify its leadership in voice technology innovation.

As the demand for specialised Arabic voice technology increases, Intella is well-positioned to address the needs of the Middle East.