Qatar Science & Technology Park’s (QSTP) new $30 million Tech Venture Fund could unlock hundreds of millions of dollars in partner capital for deep tech startups headquartered in Qatar, according to Rama Chakaki, President of QSTP.
“QSTP’s investment platform is not only the $30 million that we will invest in startups,” Chakaki told Lana in an exclusive interview. “Because we invest alongside our local, regional, and global VC partners, every dollar we put in comes with partner capital alongside it, effectively unlocking hundreds of millions of dollars in dry capital for the deep tech startups in our ecosystem.”
“That multiplier effect is what makes the model work for deep tech, where individual companies often need more capital than any single early-stage fund can provide alone,” she said.
QSTP, a member of Qatar Foundation, announced the launch of the $30 million Tech Venture Fund alongside its first cohort of co-investment partner funds on May 13, 2026.
The fund will invest in early-stage deep tech startups headquartered in Qatar that deliver measurable social or climate impact, in support of Qatar’s Third National Development Strategy and Qatar Foundation’s mission.
Chakaki said the fund was launched to address a gap seen inside QSTP’s startup ecosystem. “We’re launching now to meet a need we see every day in our own ecosystem. Startups coming out of QSTP’s Incubation Program need patient, mission aligned capital to get deep tech to market and scale it,” she said, adding that the fund builds on QSTP’s first fund, which deployed more than $20 million across more than 150 startups, including some of Qatar’s earliest startup successes.
QSTP to back Qatar-based startups in AI, robotics and clean technology
The fund targets founders building in AI, machine learning, robotics, biotechnology, advanced materials and clean technology, with Qatar serving as a launchpad for regional and global expansion.
QSTP said sectors of interest include EdTech, HealthTech, CleanTech, AgriTech, PropTech, smart infrastructure, aviation technology and mobility.
In addition, Chakaki said QSTP is looking for startups headquartered in Qatar with technology that represents a “10x improvement” over what exists today. Portfolio companies must be headquartered in Qatar, with core leadership and operations based locally. The fund will invest in founders developing technologies with commercial potential and the ability to address global and regional challenges.
Chakaki said the fund will focus on areas where deep tech intersects with EdTech, HealthTech, CleanTech, AgriTech, PropTech, smart infrastructure, aviation technology and mobility.
“What connects these sectors is not just the technology itself but the critical challenges they address, the measurable social and climate impact they can generate, and their alignment with Qatar’s National Development Strategy,” she said.
The first set of co-investment partners includes Global Ventures, Golden Gate Ventures, White Star Capital, VentureSouq and Builders VC. QSTP said the firms bring sector expertise and networks spanning the WANA region, Southeast Asia, North America, Europe and Asia.
“For founders, that means access to follow-on capital, international market entry support, and the kind of validation that comes from sophisticated, experienced lead investors,” Chakaki said.
QSTP said Global Ventures invests in technology companies across WANA and emerging markets, while Golden Gate Ventures has an early growth WANA fund based in Qatar. White Star Capital backs technology companies across North America, Europe and Asia. VentureSouq focuses on technology founders in WANA across FinTech and Climate. Builders VC, part of Qatar Investment Authority’s Fund of Funds programme, invests from Qatar in founders using technology in sectors including healthcare, agriculture, industrials and real estate.
Why founders should choose Qatar
Chakaki said Qatar’s size can work in favour of founders.
“Qatar’s size is actually an advantage here, it’s small enough that a founder can get in front of the right regulator, partner, or customer in days, and it sits at the crossroads of the GCC, South Asia, and East Africa, with direct access to markets that are still underserved by deep tech,” she said, adding that QSTP’s position inside Qatar Foundation gives startups access to institutions, relationships and research expertise that would otherwise take years to build.
“That includes world class research and clinical infrastructure through universities like Hamad Bin Khalifa University, Weill Cornell Medicine-Qatar, and Sidra Medicine. QSTP itself sits inside Education City, right alongside all of it, so our startups aren’t just adjacent to that ecosystem, they’re embedded in it,” she said.
According to Chakaki, the fund forms the capital layer on top of the Qatar Foundation ecosystem.
“Education City’s universities, including Hamad Bin Khalifa University, Weill Cornell Medicine-Qatar, and Sidra Medicine, produce the research and talent our startups draw on, and we already have a growing pipeline of commercialization ready technologies coming out of that research. We’re also a pathway for employment, with our internship program connecting students directly to startups across the ecosystem. The fund’s role is to make sure that once a startup is ready to scale, it has access to the capital to do it from Qatar,” she said.
However, QSTP will measure impact across the fund’s portfolio. “We track impact at the portfolio level with the same rigor we apply to financial returns. That means lives improved, emissions reduced, jobs created, and communities served,” she said.
“On the social side we look for technology that improves quality of life for underserved populations or expands access to education and healthcare. On the climate side we look for clean energy, carbon reduction, and sustainable agriculture. A founder who can’t articulate what they’re changing and how they’ll prove it doesn’t pass our screen,” she added.
QSTP says regional tensions have not slowed activity
When asked whether recent regional security concerns linked to the US-Israel war with Iran would affect startups and investors in Qatar, Chakaki said QSTP’s programmes, facilities and services had remained operational.
“Qatar’s innovation ecosystem is built for continuity, and that has held true through recent regional developments,” she said.
“At QSTP, our programs, facilities, and services have remained fully operational throughout, and we have continued to deliver on our commitments to founders without interruption. Investor confidence is something earned over time, and what we are seeing is that the track record holds. Engagement from our co-investment partners has remained steady, and activity across the ecosystem has not slowed,” she added.
Chakaki said the numbers reflected that resilience. During this period, the QSTP x TotalEnergies WaterTech Accelerator remained open and received 226 applications from 79 countries, while the QSTP x Merck FemTech Accelerator attracted 240 applications from 47 countries.
She added that QSTP’s active startup community continues to represent 39 countries. According to her, Qatar’s stability, regulatory clarity and the depth of the Qatar Foundation ecosystem give founders and investors a clear base from which to operate, particularly during periods of uncertainty.
As for the future, Chakaki said success for the fund in five years would mean a portfolio of deep tech companies headquartered in Qatar, generating quantifiable impact and competing globally.
“Success looks like a portfolio of deep tech companies headquartered in Qatar that are generating quantifiable impact and competing on the global stage,” she said, adding success would also mean a co-investment network that makes Qatar “a default stop” for regional and global venture capital firms sourcing deals, and research from Qatar Foundation institutions finding a faster path to commercialisation through QSTP.
“The ecosystem we are building today [should be] deep enough that the next generation of founders chooses Qatar not because of incentives, but because it is genuinely the best place in the region to build deep tech” Chakaki said, adding that the fund reflects QSTP’s belief that “the most important companies of the next decade will be deep tech startups with an impact lens, building technologies that serve humanity and the natural world.”
“We’re here to back those founders early and bring the best investors in the world alongside us when we do,” Chakaki concluded.
