June 11, 2025
Istanbul, June 2025 — VenueX, a rapidly growing Istanbul-based AI startup, has raised $1.2 million in a bridge funding round to expand its footprint across the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. The round was led by Orbit Startups (Singapore), with support from Re-Pie, Akkök Holding, and Akyasam.
Expanding Into Dubai and Riyadh
The fresh capital will enable VenueX to set up new offices in Dubai and Riyadh, two of the region’s most dynamic retail and tech hubs. As part of its MENA growth strategy, the company plans to build local sales teams, strengthen channel partnerships, and scale its operations.
Revolutionizing Retail Advertising with AI
Founded in 2022, VenueX uses artificial intelligence to bridge the gap between digital advertising and in-store retail sales. Its platform offers a unified dashboard for retail brands to manage ad campaigns across multiple platforms—all in one place.
After launching its platform in April 2024, VenueX quickly gained traction, onboarding 25 paying clients within its first year.
Next Steps: Toward a Fully Autonomous Marketing Platform
With this new round of funding, VenueX aims to evolve its product into a fully autonomous AI marketing platform. Key product developments on the horizon include:
- AI agents for inventory optimization
- Dynamic creative generation
- Advanced customer segmentation tools
The company is also hiring across several key functions, including growth, data science, and business development, to support its aggressive expansion plans.
What Investors Are Saying
“VenueX solves a global inefficiency by automating the link between digital marketing and physical retail sales,” said William Bao Bean, Managing Director at Orbit Startups. “Their AI-powered platform has the potential to redefine how retail advertising operates in both emerging and mature markets.”
The Future of Smart Retail Marketing
By syncing online ad spend with real-time in-store data, VenueX allows brands to deliver highly targeted, personalized campaigns—without the manual overhead. This marks a major step toward smarter, data-driven retail marketing, not just in Turkey, but across the broader MENA region.
