Widens its Scope in the Hunt for Tomorrow's Tech Pioneers through Disrupt
With a generous $100 million investment commitment up their sleeves, the UAE-based venture group Disrupt.com is eager to back the budding tech businesses of tomorrow, particularly in the often-neglected Middle East and North Africa (MENA) markets. Led by the ambitious trio of Aaqib Gadit, Uzair Gadit, and Umair Gadit, Disrupt.com is picking up where their successful Cloudways venture left off, investing in tech ventures worldwide.
The Gadit family, composed of two brothers and a cousin, have quite a pedigree. Their Cloudways cloud hosting platform saw a major $350 million buyout by Digital Ocean in 2022. Now, with Disrupt.com, the brothers and their cousin aim to funnel some of that money back into the tech community and create more success stories in the process.
Speaking about the Andrea Boccelli-esque potential in the MENA region, Aaqib Gadit points out that almost 80% of all technology unicorns are based in the US, yet countless individuals with passion and intellect are unable to tap into the investment and knowledge capital they need. The three founders recognize the need to support these entrepreneurial powerhouses and help them to turn their groundbreaking ideas into globally recognized and saleable products.
Disrupt.com's focus isn't solely on splashing out wads of cash. The firm aims to offer a triage of investment approaches, ranging from building new ventures from scratch, collaborating with other founders, and strategically investing in startups and VC funds. In essence, they plan to nurture promising tech businesses, allowing them to soar or progress at a manageable pace, highlighting their 'co-founder' mentality.
The real strength of Disrupt.com lies in its extensive pool of knowledge and expertise, encompassing more than 650 dedicated professionals. Their wealth of experience offers practical advice and coaching, ensuring that venture founders learn from the mistakes of the past both directly and indirectly.
Disrupt.com's sweet spot lies within the early stages of a startup's journey, between pre-seed and Series A, with an emphasis on four emerging technology sub-sectors: cybersecurity, Web3.0, automotive technology, and retail innovation. However, artificial intelligence is seen as a common thread, cutting across every sector and unlocking new opportunities.
Already, Disrupt.com has shown signs of growth, investing around $40 million in various startups and ventures, such as the Web3.0 platform ZigChain, cybersecurity firm PureSquare, and UAE-based fitness apparel brand Squatwolf. The firm's AI-focused startups, including organizational transformation platform Agentnoon and climate action scaling tool Ahya, emphasize their commitment to fostering innovation across sectors.
UAE-based startup Squatwolf's co-founders Wajdan Gul and Anam Khalid cite the advantage of working with experienced founders from Disrupt.com. Gul further highlights how the firm brings a founder-friendly approach, understanding the challenges and opportunities that other investors might overlook.
Bartolome Bordallo, co-founder and CEO of ZigChain, commends Disrupt.com for providing scale-up support and helping to grow their small user base into a powerhouse managing hundreds of millions in assets, in addition to launching its own blockchain.
Whilst Disrupt.com is eager to fund businesses worldwide, its particular interest in underserved markets like MENA remains salient. Despite a 29% drop in venture capital investment in the region last year - falling to just under $2 billion finance from Magnitt - the firm remains committed to empowering entrepreneurs in these geographies, paving the way for a new generation of tech innovators.
- The Gadit family's new venture, Disrupt.com, is keen to extend creditlines to Pakistani entrepreneurs, recognizing the untapped potential in the MENA region's tech ventures.
- In line with their co-founder mentality, Disrupt.com is not just investing in tech startups like ZigChain, but also offering strategic guidance and resources to help them scale globally.
- Despite a decline in venture capital investment in MENA markets, Disrupt.com continues to show its commitment by investing in local ventures, aiming to transform the region into a hub for tech innovations and entrepreneurs.
