Saudi-Based Intella Raises $12.5 Million In Series A Funding To Expand Arabic Speech Intelligence Solutions
Saudi Arabia-based Intella has successfully secured $12.5 million during its Series A funding round. Prosus Ventures spearheaded this financial boost, alongside contributions from 500 Global, Wa'ed Ventures (the venture capital division of Aramco), Hala Ventures, Idrisi Ventures, and HearstLab. This investment escalates Intella's total capital to $16.9 million, marking a significant milestone in its journey.
Intella, established in 2021 in Egypt by CEO Nour Taher and CTO Omar Mansour, specialises in creating artificial intelligence (AI) models tailored for Arabic dialects. These models are utilized for transcribing, analyzing, and enhancing customer interactions across over 25 Arabic dialects. The company's speech-to-text technology has achieved an impressive 95.73% accuracy rate, setting a new standard for Arabic AI performance globally.
The influx of funds from the Series A round is earmarked for several key areas. Intella plans to invest in research and development to further refine its AI technologies. Additionally, the company aims to bolster its go-to-market teams in both Egypt and Saudi Arabia.
A significant portion of the investment will also support the launch of Ziila, Intella's innovative digital human developed for the Arabic-speaking market. Ziila was introduced earlier this month through a partnership with Jumia, Africa's leading e-commerce platform, where it powers a novel voice-ordering feature for Jumia's customers.
CEO Nour Taher expressed enthusiasm about the funding, highlighting Intella's mission to narrow the technological divide between the Arabic-speaking world and global AI advancements. "This funding from Prosus, a powerhouse investor with deep operational expertise, is a testament to the technology we've built and the market leadership we've established," said Taher.
Robin Voogd, the Head of Middle East Investments at Prosus, underscored the challenges that have historically plagued Arabic AI models due to the language's intricate phonetics and diverse dialects. Voogd praised Intella's efforts in overcoming these obstacles: "Arabic AI models have historically underperformed—challenged by complex phonetics and fragmented dialects. Intella is changing that. We see many global opportunities to build in AI, and Intella is doing just that."
Intella has demonstrated remarkable financial performance, doubling its revenue in 2024. The company anticipates a sevenfold increase in growth for 2025, driven by robust demand from a diverse client base that includes financial institutions, telecom operators, and government entities. Intella's business model integrates enterprise software as a service (SaaS) and API solutions, generating revenue through transcription services, analytics, and conversational AI implementations.
Sign in with Google