Oman's Phaze Ventures Targets $75 Million Across Two AI, Deeptech Funds
The Muscat-based firm has already secured more than $40 million in commitments and deployed over $10 million across 10 companies.
Phaze Ventures has launched two new venture funds with a combined target of more than US$75 million, both of them aimed at artificial intelligence and deep technology companies. The firm, which is headquartered in Muscat, is running the raise along two separate mandates: one that invests globally, and one built around companies founded at home.
Phaze Ventures Fund II is anchored by ITHCA Group, Ominvest and Oman LNG Development Foundation. ITHCA Group is a subsidiary of Oman Investment Authority. The fund carries forward the firm's existing global mandate in AI and deeptech.
Phaze Ventures Oman Fund is anchored by Future Fund Oman. It is a dedicated capital pool for homegrown AI-enabled businesses, backing companies being built inside the country rather than exposure bought elsewhere.
Across the two vehicles, Phaze Ventures has secured more than US$40 million in investor commitments and has deployed over US$10 million into 10 companies. The first 10 investments include Arabic.AI, Sully.ai, Andromeda Surgical, Boardy.ai and Metal. Co-investors on those deals include a16z, 8VC, Standard Capital, Y Combinator and Baidu Ventures, which puts the firm's cheques into rounds alongside established US and Chinese investors.
Abdullah Al Shaksy, co-founder and CEO, called AI the most disruptive technology shift of this generation and said Oman and the Gulf cannot afford to be spectators in it. Participation, in his account, cannot mean catching up. Investments in hyperscalers, data centres and public market offerings would not be enough, he said. Capital should go early to founders disrupting industries locally and globally.
Masoud Al Rawahi, co-founder and partner, said the firm backs founders who combine domain expertise with strong engineering and who learn from real-world deployments. That pairing, rather than a single technical or commercial skill, is what the firm screens for.
Mohammed Al Wahaibi, also a co-founder and partner, said investors in Oman and the Gulf want stakes in next-generation AI companies while those companies are still forming. He described the platform as the firm's answer to that demand.
Phaze Ventures now manages capital for more than 50 investors across three fund vehicles, with the two new funds among them. The investor base spans sovereign entities, listed companies, corporations and family offices.
The alternatives Al Shaksy set aside are the familiar ones: hyperscalers, data centres, public market offerings. Owning a slice of the companies themselves is a different kind of participation, and one that has to start early, before the winners are obvious. Splitting the raise in two lets sovereign-linked capital do both jobs from a single platform, pairing exposure to companies being built abroad with early cheques to founders a short drive from Muscat.
Phaze Ventures was founded in 2018 and invests at early stage in AI and deep technology companies across the GCC and North America. It has team members in Dubai and Riyadh alongside its Muscat base.
