Sovereign AI company 1001, which operates in the GCC and London, raised $30 million in a Series A investment headed by Lux Capital. The investment also included PIF-owned Sanabil Investments, 9Yards, and Hanabi, as well as current investors General Catalyst, CIV, and Stanford AI researcher Chris Ré. The investment was also supported by many regional and international angel investors, including Karim Atiyeh, Ramp’s co-founder and CTO, Kareem Amin, Clay’s co-founder and CEO, Russell Kaplan, President of Cognition, Shayan Shafii, Daniel Garber, and Junaid Hussain.
The financing demonstrates a growing confidence that the Middle East has progressed from a consumer of foreign technology to an area where applied AI is produced and validated through real-world implementation. It also reinforces the idea that, over the next decade, genuine technological sovereignty will be determined by a country’s ability to construct, manage, and govern its own AI across crucial industries, rather than relying on solutions established elsewhere.
According to Bilal Abu-Ghazaleh, founder and CEO of 1001, the GCC handles some of the world’s most essential infrastructure, which accounts for a significant portion of global oil flows, container traffic, and international aviation. He stated that businesses in the region are looking beyond pilot trials to find sovereign AI systems capable of delivering measurable results and supporting thousands of trusted real-time choices. Abu-Ghazaleh stated that the money will enable the company to expand its goal while attracting top local and international talent.
Abu-Ghazaleh founded 1001 in 2025. The company builds sovereign AI solutions that interact with operators’ existing infrastructure to generate a real-time operational model of assets, procedures, dependencies, and limits. Rather than just monitoring operations, the platform anticipates future issues, advises or implements the most effective solution, and allows for faster, more intelligent decision making at scale. The systems are built, owned, and regulated locally, ensuring that clients keep complete control over essential infrastructure that they cannot afford to lose access to.
1001’s AI systems are intended for high-value operational contexts in where smarter data and intelligence may improve decision-making across vital infrastructure sectors such as aviation, ports and logistics, energy, manufacturing, and industry operations. According to McKinsey, increased AI adoption has the potential to contribute up to $150 billion to GCC economies, accounting for around 9% of the region’s total GDP, with critical infrastructure standing out as one of the most significant areas for effect.
Deena Shakir, Partner at Lux Capital, highlighted Bilal and the 1001 team as mission-driven founders with world-class technological expertise who are building in one of the world’s most important places. She stated that the company is demonstrating that frontier AI for vital infrastructure can be developed, owned, and managed locally rather than relying on imported solutions. Shakir noted that Lux Capital is happy to lead the fundraising round and assist 1001 as it increases the GCC’s ability to build AI while also improving its ability to operate its most important systems.
According to a representative for Sanabil Investments, GCC economies are investing unprecedented amounts of money in data, computing power, and infrastructure, with an increased emphasis on establishing local capabilities to manage these assets using trusted AI. The spokesperson further stated that the firm believes 1001 is well positioned to become a leading sovereign AI partner for institutions operating in critical infrastructure sectors.
The newly received capital will help 1001 expand its personnel, with a focus on extending its engineering team while also boosting its commercial capabilities and go-to-market strategy in major GCC regions. The organization already recruits elite technical talent from globally recognized colleges such as Yale, Stanford, and Carnegie Mellon.
1001 has previously received funding from well-known angel investors such as Amjad Masad (Replit), Amira Sajwani (DAMAC), Khalid Bin Bader Al Saud (RAED Ventures), and Hisham Al-Falih.
