1001, an AI startup based in Dubai and London, raised $30 million in its Series A funding round led by US venture capital firm Lux Capital. American investors General Catalyst, CIV, 9Yards Capital and Hanabi Capital also joined the round. The startup develops AI solutions to boost efficiency in critical infrastructure and plans to use the funds to expand across the Gulf.

Why This Matters

The UAE-US AI partnership is growing in both directions. UAE firms are investing across the US AI value chain — scaling American startups through Hub71 and Presight's accelerators and participating in frontier tech funding rounds. At the same time, US capital is driving UAE AI innovation through investments like OPAQUE's acquisition of Abu Dhabi-developed cryptographic AI. Backed by frameworks like the U.S.-UAE AI Acceleration Partnership and Pax Silica, deep trust and collaboration between both AI ecosystems creates unique growth opportunities for American firms to scale technologies in high-growth markets.

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