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- MGX Winner in Anthropic-OpenAI race; Talabat & HungerStation in Focus; Made in Saudi Drones
MGX Winner in Anthropic-OpenAI race; Talabat & HungerStation in Focus; Made in Saudi Drones
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Saturday, May 30, 2026
Happy Saturday everyone!
From AI megadeals to food delivery consolidation and a new wave of defense manufacturing, today’s stories highlight how capital, technology, and power are converging across the US, Europe, and the Gulf. Anthropic’s rise above OpenAI marks a reshaping of the global AI hierarchy, but Abu Dhabi’s quiet cross-investments tell an even bigger story. Meanwhile, Uber’s push for Delivery Hero puts Talabat and HungerStation in play across the Middle East. In parallel, a US-Saudi venture to build Shahed-style drones in Riyadh signals an accelerating regional race to localize advanced military production.
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Anthropic Overtakes Openai In Valuation Race, But Abu Dhabi Emerges As The Real Winner
What Is It About?
Anthropic has overtaken OpenAI in valuation after raising $65 billion at a $965 billion price tag, making the Claude maker the world’s most valuable AI startup. The milestone comes as Abu Dhabi’s MGX quietly emerges as a rare investor with exposure across Anthropic, OpenAI’s Stargate infrastructure push, and Elon Musk’s xAI — the only known fund positioned across all three leading frontier AI labs.
Why It Matters?
While Anthropic’s rise marks a shift in the AI leaderboard, the deeper story is capital strategy. MGX, backed by the UAE government and chaired by Sheikh Tahnoun bin Zayed Al Nahyan, has effectively avoided picking winners and instead taken stakes in all major Western AI contenders. This positions Abu Dhabi as a structural winner regardless of which company dominates the next phase of AI.
What’s Next?
Anthropic’s revenue momentum and potential IPO later this year could further widen competition with OpenAI, which still leads in fundraising history but trails in valuation for the first time. As global AI consolidation accelerates, MGX is expected to expand its investments and potentially raise up to $50 billion more, deepening Abu Dhabi’s influence across the AI infrastructure and model ecosystem.
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Uber’s Pursuit Of Delivery Hero Has Talabat And HungerStation At Stake Too
What Is It About?
Uber Technologies is pursuing a larger stake in Delivery Hero, increasing its holding to nearly 37% after acquiring Aspex Management’s 14.6% share. The deal values Delivery Hero at around €12 billion. Delivery Hero owns 80% of Dubai-listed Talabat and fully owns Saudi-based HungerStation, making them central assets in a potential takeover under discussion in Europe.
Why It Matters?
A successful acquisition would give Uber indirect control over two of the Middle East’s most dominant food delivery platforms, strengthening its position in the region. Talabat and HungerStation lead in key markets including the UAE and Saudi Arabia, where Uber’s presence in food delivery lags behind local players. The move signals deeper consolidation in global food delivery, with Gulf consumer platforms becoming strategic assets.
What’s Next?
Delivery Hero has already received an indicative offer from Uber at €33 per share, though shareholders are pushing for a higher valuation above €40. Uber is reportedly considering an improved bid. The outcome could lead either to a full acquisition or a potential breakup of Delivery Hero’s assets, placing Talabat and HungerStation firmly in play among global tech and delivery giants.
US-Saudi Venture Launches Shahed-Style Drone Factory In Riyadh As Gulf Defense Race Accelerates
What Is It About?
A US-Saudi joint venture, SR2Vector, is building a drone manufacturing facility near Riyadh to produce SKYWASP, a one-way attack drone modeled on Iran’s Shahed system. The partnership between Utah-based Vector Defense and Saudi firm SR2 Defense Systems aims to produce long-range drones capable of striking targets up to 1,500 kilometers, with output intended for both domestic use and allied exports.
Why It Matters?
The project signals a major shift in Saudi Arabia’s defense strategy as the kingdom pushes to localize military production and reduce reliance on imports. Shahed-style drones have become central to modern asymmetric warfare due to their low cost and high impact, forcing Gulf states to rethink deterrence. The factory also reflects deepening US-Saudi defense cooperation amid rising regional security tensions.
What’s Next?
While production timelines and investment size remain undisclosed, SR2Vector plans to scale output in line with Saudi strategic requirements. Backing from MASNA Ventures suggests additional capital inflows into the project as Gulf defense spending rises. The facility could also position Saudi Arabia as an emerging exporter of low-cost combat drones, reshaping regional supply chains in unmanned warfare technology.
What happens when you throw out the GTM playbook
That investor was wrong. Gamma is now worth $2B, with 50M users and more than half their growth driven by word of mouth.
They're one of 6 AI-native startups in HubSpot for Startups' free Bold Bets Playbook. Replit grew revenue 50x after half the team pushed back on the strategy. Ramp generated 100M+ views from a single stunt. Clay's co-founder wouldn't hang up a sales call until the prospect DMed him in Slack.
Each one took a GTM risk most founders would never greenlight. Each one paid off.
👨💻From Smashi Business’ Desk
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Saudi Arabia’s first Hollywood-scale blockbuster Desert Warrior has opened modestly at the US box office.
Despite a market cap of just $15.7 million — well below Nasdaq’s $35 million threshold — Swvl Holdings Corp is not on the brink of delisting.
UK universities under fire after reports of £440k spent spying on pro-Palestine student activity
🔍In other news…
🦄 World of Startups
Dubai gifting marketplace Udora secures $10M
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Jordan-based Tamatem has acquired Istanbul-founded Playable Factory, strengthening its push into performance marketing and user acquisition.
Egypt’s Lucky Raises USD 23M Series B. Its Consumer Credit Model is Expanding Into North Africa
“We Got Funded!” Maison Safqa Raises US$620,000 in Pre-Seed Funding to Expand Luxury Flash-Sale Platform Across GCC
Via Separations, US-based deeptech startup, raised $36M in funding from Aramco Ventures (Saudi), and other global investors.
