BY Venture Partners closes $60M Fund III, opens Lisbon office

BY Venture Partners, a global venture capital firm headquartered in Dubai, has closed its third fund, Fund III, at $60 million. At the same time, the firm opened an office in Lisbon, marking its formal entry into Europe.

The fund was anchored by Dubai Future District Fund (DFDF). Other backers include regional institutions, corporate venture arms and family offices, among them Multi Lane, Transmed Capital and Saudi Arabia's Idriss Family Office. With the close, assets under management now exceed $200 million.

Early-stage AI focus

Fund III targets companies building on artificial intelligence, particularly those that are international from day one and rethink traditional enterprise workflows. Cheques go up to $1 million, and the fund backs companies from pre-seed through Series A.

Deployment is already well under way. Of a planned portfolio of 40 companies, the team has made 15 investments, including PQ Shield, Cosyne, Isometric, Huspy and Invisible. The firm invests in more than 16 markets, and two-thirds of its capital goes outside the Middle East and North Africa, mainly to North America and Europe.

Founding partner Ghaith Yafi said European hubs such as Madrid, London, Paris and Berlin are key drivers of fast innovation in AI-based software.

Why Lisbon

The Lisbon office will be staffed by two local investment professionals. Partner Sohrab Jahanbani said Europe produces top technical talent, but local founders often face significant barriers when raising international capital and scaling globally. The firm points to earlier backing of Onfido, PQShield and Huspy as evidence for the approach.

All four managing partners, Ghaith Yafi, Abdallah Yafi, Rami Jisr and Sohrab Jahanbani, are serial founders who built and sold companies before investing. According to the firm, its first two funds produced four unicorns and a growing group of companies valued in the hundreds of millions of dollars.

For European founders, the Lisbon base offers a direct line to Gulf capital and international networks, a route that is increasingly relevant as AI startups look beyond their home markets early.