Key Takeaways
- • BY Venture Partners, a Dubai-headquartered early-stage VC firm, closed its Fund III at $60 million, lifting total assets under management to over $200 million.
- • The fund is anchored by the Dubai Future District Fund (DFDF) and includes participation from Multi Lane, Transmed Capital and the Idriss Family Office (KSA).
- • Fund III will invest up to $1 million per company at the Pre-Seed to Series A stages in AI-native enterprise software companies, with 15 of a planned 40 investments already deployed.
- • The firm has opened a Lisbon office and made two local investment hires to deepen its European push, with two-thirds of its capital currently deployed outside MENA across North America and Europe.
Summary
BY Venture Partners, a global early-stage venture capital firm headquartered in Dubai, has announced the $60 million close of its third vehicle, Fund III, and the launch of its Portuguese office in Lisbon. The fund is anchored by the Dubai Future District Fund (DFDF), with participation from regional institutional investors, corporate venture arms and family offices, including Multi Lane, Transmed Capital and the Idriss Family Office (KSA). With Fund III, the firm's total assets under management exceed $200 million.
Although anchored in the Middle East, BY Venture Partners operates with a global mandate, investing across more than 16 international markets. Two-thirds of its capital is deployed outside the MENA region, across North America and Europe. Fund III will primarily write checks of up to $1 million at the Pre-Seed to Series A stages into AI-native companies that aim to reimagine enterprise workflows and scale globally from inception. Early momentum is already underway, with 15 investments made to date out of a planned 40-company portfolio, including PQ Shield, Cosyne, Isometric, Huspy and Invisible.
Founding Partner Ghaith Yafi said the firm is particularly keen to invest more across Europe, citing hubs such as Madrid, London, Paris and Berlin as driving rapid advances in AI-native software. Sohrab Jahanbani, Partner at BY Venture Partners, said European founders often face barriers in bridging to international capital and global commercial scale, and cited the firm's earlier backing of Onfido, PQShield and Huspy as the basis for doubling down on Europe. The Lisbon hub, staffed with two local investment hires, is intended to give European founders access to global networks, cross-border deployment opportunities and an operator-led team.
The firm's four partners, Ghaith Yafi, Abdallah Yafi, Rami Jisr and Sohrab Jahanbani, are repeat entrepreneurs who built and exited businesses before becoming investors. According to the announcement, Fund I and Fund II have produced four unicorns alongside a growing group of companies now valued in the hundreds of millions, and the firm has already returned meaningful capital to its LPs.
Although anchored in the Middle East, BY Venture Partners operates with a global mandate, investing across more than 16 international markets. Two-thirds of its capital is deployed outside the MENA region, across North America and Europe. Fund III will primarily write checks of up to $1 million at the Pre-Seed to Series A stages into AI-native companies that aim to reimagine enterprise workflows and scale globally from inception. Early momentum is already underway, with 15 investments made to date out of a planned 40-company portfolio, including PQ Shield, Cosyne, Isometric, Huspy and Invisible.
Founding Partner Ghaith Yafi said the firm is particularly keen to invest more across Europe, citing hubs such as Madrid, London, Paris and Berlin as driving rapid advances in AI-native software. Sohrab Jahanbani, Partner at BY Venture Partners, said European founders often face barriers in bridging to international capital and global commercial scale, and cited the firm's earlier backing of Onfido, PQShield and Huspy as the basis for doubling down on Europe. The Lisbon hub, staffed with two local investment hires, is intended to give European founders access to global networks, cross-border deployment opportunities and an operator-led team.
The firm's four partners, Ghaith Yafi, Abdallah Yafi, Rami Jisr and Sohrab Jahanbani, are repeat entrepreneurs who built and exited businesses before becoming investors. According to the announcement, Fund I and Fund II have produced four unicorns alongside a growing group of companies now valued in the hundreds of millions, and the firm has already returned meaningful capital to its LPs.
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