Week 36: Top Startup Funding in Africa and Middle East Led by Upwind

Startups across Africa and the Middle East raised a combined $532.25 million this week, based on disclosed funding rounds tracked by Techloy, with investor capital flowing primarily into cybersecurity and fintech. Israeli security companies took most of the money, while Saudi Arabia produced the highest number of deals, three of them unveiled at the LEAP 2026 conference in Riyadh.

The Week's Largest Startup Funding Rounds

Here are the biggest disclosed startup funding rounds across Africa, the Middle East and Israel this week.

/1. Upwind, $300 million, Cloud security, Israel

Upwind watches cloud systems while they are running instead of relying mainly on static scans and has been pushing into AI security. Bessemer Venture Partners and TCV led the round at a valuation of around $3.8 billion, with Craft Ventures, Salesforce Ventures, Greylock and Cyberstarts also investing. Upwind has not said how it will spend the money.

/2. AIR Security, $50 million, AI security, Israel

AIR Security is building what its CEO calls a firewall for AI agents, finding the agents running inside a company and vetting the skills and add-ons they connect to. Sequoia Capital led an initial $10 million and Greenoaks the $40 million that followed, with Swish Ventures, Netz and angels including Wiz co-founder Yinon Costica also investing. Founded in February 2026 by Unit 8200 veterans Yair Saban and Niv Hoffman, the company came out of stealth with the raise.

/3. AITAN, $41 million, Defense tech, Israel

AITAN, formerly eyesAtop, builds AI-powered robotic combat systems used by Israeli forces, and has around 50 staff in Ramat Gan. Deep33 and Dell Technologies Capital co-led its first major round, taking total funding to $54 million. The company plans to sell its technology to Israel's allies abroad.

/4. Huskeys, $27 million, Cybersecurity, Israel

Huskeys uses AI to upgrade web application firewalls as more of the traffic hitting websites comes from AI agents rather than people. Blackstone led the Series A, with Okta's and Zscaler's venture funds, Merlin Ventures and executives from Google, Microsoft and Palo Alto Networks joining, taking total funding to $35 million. Founded by Unit 8200 alumni Itai Gafni and Roy Weisfeld, it left stealth five months ago.