Ahmed Mahmoud

Techpoint Africa says DXwand was cofounded in 2018 by Ahmed, the CEO, and Mahmoud Gomaa, the growth lead. Techpoint also says Mahmoud worked for Microsoft before starting the company, noticed that conversational AI was less developed in the Middle East than in the West, and soon resigned to establish DXwand. The article uses only that name, which both cofounders carry, so it does not say which one it means. Techpoint adds, in its own voice, that Silicon Valley did not develop AI solutions specifically for Arabic or other MENA languages.

Techpoint's January 2024 report says DXwand started with a seed round of $150,000 from angel investors in Qatar and Egypt. It says the company began by helping small businesses with a custom chatbot to drive sales on social media, and that the early goal was an AI system that handles Arabic dialects. In 2021, Techpoint says, DXwand pivoted from targeting small businesses to corporations and enterprises, with a focus on knowledge mining and retrieval-augmented generation (RAG).

WAYA reported in June 2022 that DXwand raised a $1 million pre-Series A round, with angel investors also taking part. The Dubai Future District Fund, an investor in DXwand, wrote in a November 2023 post that it made a direct investment in the company in March 2023. The same post says DXwand was among 28 AI startups hosted by the Dubai Center for AI.

Wamda reported on 25 January 2024 that DXwand closed a Series A equity round of $4 million. Per the press release, Shorooq Partners and Algebra Ventures led it, and the Dubai Future District Fund, an existing investor, continued its support. According to Wamda, the money would support regional expansion and research and development in generative AI, LLMs, knowledge mining and RAG.

Techpoint's January 2024 report says Ahmed, the CEO, revealed that DXwand grossed more than $5 million in annual recurring revenue in 2023, with growth of twice the year before. Separately, Techpoint says DXwand asserts it is profitable. These figures are self-reported and unverified. Techpoint says DXwand has assisted over 200 clients and that its chatbot currently serves over 40 clients across the MENA region. It adds, per the DXwand website, that the platform facilitates over five million conversations a month.