UAE VC firms Morningstar Ventures, Modus, KBW Ventures make startup bets
Morningstar Ventures, a UAE-based venture capital firm, has invested $5 million in 37xDubai, an interactive and immersive digital art gallery to be opened in the first quarter of 2023.
37xDubai will offer educational programmes, private events, and monthly gatherings. It says it aims to create a global community of digital art enthusiasts.
Founded in 2020 by Danilo S. Carlucci, Morningstar Ventures is an investment firm focused on digital assets and blockchain technology, investing primarily in early-stage tokens and equity rounds.
The co-founders of Morningstar Ventures, Danilo S. Carlucci and Arut Nazaryan, are two young Dubai-based entrepreneurs, who were early investors in the Web3 ecosystem. Early last year, the two investors got together with Clemence Cazeau, CEO of 37xDubai.
Modus Capital
The UAE-based VC firm Modus Capital has led the $1.2 million pre-seed funding round for UK-based investment firm Koble alongside Belgium-based VC firm Pitchdrive and some angel investors.
Founded in 2020 by Damian Cristian and Guy Conway, Koble is an AI-powered platform that says it empowers investors to make better, data-driven investment decisions.
“The newly raised funds will be used to further develop Koble’s algorithms and technology, which identify early-stage investments that outperform the market,” the VC firm said in a statement.
KBW Ventures
The UAE-based KBW Ventures, founded by Prince Khaled bin Alwaleed bin Talal Al Saud, has co-led a $12.3 million Series A round for US-based foodtech startup Black Sheep Foods, alongside Unovis, AgFunder and Bessemer Ventures Partners.
Founded in 2019, Black Sheep Foods has developed a technology to produce plant-based lamb.
Adding this round, the startup raised a total capital of $18.05 million to date.
This round will enable Black Sheep Foods to scale up production for its lamb made from plants for national distribution.
In June, KBW Ventures had invested in a $40 million Series B round in Eclipse, a California-headquartered food startup that manufactures plant-based ice cream and dairy products.
