Hub71 startup Synapse Analytics raises USD 13 million to scale AI powered decisioning for financial institutions

Synapse Analytics has secured USD 13 million (AED 47.7 million) in Series A funding, marking a new phase of global growth for the Hub71 startup. Led by global technology investment firm Partech, with participation from Algebra Ventures and Silicon Badia, the round brings the company’s total funding since inception to USD 17 million (AED 62.4 million).

Headquartered in Abu Dhabi, Synapse Analytics builds agentic decisioning infrastructure for regulated financial institutions. Its technology gives credit and risk teams direct control over the policies that guide critical decisions, helping institutions move faster while keeping governance, compliance and data security at the centre of deployment.

Building secure AI decisioning for regulated finance

Banks, non-banking financial institutions, fintechs and telecommunications companies are accelerating automation across customer onboarding, credit, fraud prevention and anti-money laundering. Yet regulated institutions face a difficult trade-off: gaining the speed and sophistication of AI without sending sensitive data beyond their control or depending on infrastructure that does not meet their governance requirements.

Synapse Analytics is designed to remove that trade-off. Its decisioning platform can operate within an institution’s own perimeter, whether on-premise, in a private, public or sovereign cloud, or in an air-gapped environment. Proprietary models run within the client’s infrastructure, enabling financial institutions to retain control of their data, policies and the intelligence created through each decision.

The platform also puts policy management directly in the hands of credit and risk teams. Users can build, simulate, version and deploy risk policies, then test potential changes against historical data before moving them into production. This combination of speed, explainability and operational control helps institutions adopt AI at scale without compromising the oversight expected in financial services.

Capital for product development and international growth

Synapse Analytics will use the new funding to expand its team, accelerate product development and extend its international reach. The company already works with financial institutions across the Middle East, Africa and Latin America, markets where providers must balance rising demand for digital financial services with local regulatory and data-governance requirements.

The round brings Partech’s global network and scale-up expertise to the company’s next stage of development. Continued backing from Algebra Ventures and Silicon Badia also signals sustained investor confidence in Synapse Analytics’ ambition to build decisioning infrastructure for banks and other regulated institutions.

For co-founders Ahmed Abaza and Galal Elbeshbishy, the ambition extends beyond automating individual workflows. Synapse Analytics is developing intelligent agents that can work alongside financial services teams to refine credit policies, strengthen underwriting criteria, monitor portfolios and identify emerging opportunities and risks as market conditions change.

Scaling from Abu Dhabi through Hub71

Synapse Analytics joined Hub71 in 2023 as part of Cohort 12. Since then, the company has continued to build from Abu Dhabi while deepening its footprint across the region and beyond. In 2024, it secured USD 2 million in funding to expand across the GCC and Africa. The latest Series A represents another significant step in that trajectory.

Its AI-powered lending collaboration with fellow Hub71 startup Lean Technologies also demonstrates how community-driven partnerships can translate regional innovation into practical financial infrastructure.

The milestone reflects the type of globally relevant innovation growing within Hub71’s community: ambitious technology companies developing in the UAE capital, connecting with international investors and addressing complex industry challenges at scale. Abu Dhabi’s position between major markets, combined with its growing capital base and focus on advanced technology, gives high-growth ventures a powerful platform for international expansion.

As financial institutions search for practical ways to deploy AI responsibly, Synapse Analytics is building the infrastructure to translate that demand into production-ready systems. Its Series A equips the company to accelerate that mission from Abu Dhabi and shape a more intelligent, secure and responsive future for financial services.