US-based AI firm Emergent acquired USD 23 million in Series A funding spearheaded by Lightspeed Ventures to extend its agentic AI app-building platform to MENA.
Emergent’s platform, established in 2025 in San Francisco by Mukund Jha and Madhav Jha, uses autonomous AI agents to autonomously construct full-stack, production-ready applications. After launching, the startup experienced rapid development, achieving USD 15 million in annual recurring revenue within 90 days.
Expanding Innovation with Agentic AI in MENA
Emergent targets the MENA region, where governments heavily invest in digital transformation and SME growth under initiatives like UAE Vision 2030 and Saudi Vision 2030.
Mukund Jha, Emergent’s co-founder and CEO, said, “Our platform ensures that innovation is no longer limited to software engineers; it belongs to everyone.”
The platform’s AI agents code, test, and launch apps, handling user interfaces, scalability, and payments. It empowers MENA entrepreneurs, creators, and businesses to build scalable software cheaply and efficiently without coding.
Funding to accelerate growth and research
Along with prominent angel investors including Jeff Dean (Google), Devendra Chaplot (Thinking Machines), and Balaji Srinivasan (Coinbase’s former CTO), Together Fund, Y Combinator, and Prosus Ventures participated in the USD 23 million investment round. Emergent intends to use the additional funding to grow its workforce, advance AI research, and launch the platform internationally.
Mukund Jha states, “The funds will allow us to accelerate innovation, strengthen product capabilities, and deliver meaningful solutions that help our users achieve more, faster”.
By lowering the technological obstacles to invention, Emergent’s AI builder upends the conventional software development process and enables anyone with a phone and an idea to create personalised apps.
The platform’s agentic AI methodology is poised to revolutionise software development, particularly in areas that are quickly adopting digital economies.