UAE-based agri-fintech startup Maalexi has closed an oversubscribed $2.8 million funding round led by Saudi-listed insurer Tawuniya, with participation from existing backer Global Ventures. No valuation was disclosed. The company is positioning the raise as a bridge to its Series A.
Maalexi is building what it calls the Maalexi Agricultural Assets Token Exchange (MAATEX) — a regulated real-world asset exchange aimed at bringing verification, standardisation, and transparency to cross-border agricultural commodity trading.
Founded in 2021 by Azam Pasha and Rohit Majhi, the company layers AI, IoT, and blockchain infrastructure on top of physical agricultural trade. It has recorded 4,000+ smart contracts on the Avalanche L1 blockchain across four markets: the UAE, Saudi Arabia, India, and the United States. The company holds three published patents with the USPTO and has three more under review.
The investment will fund expansion of Maalexi’s regulated exchange infrastructure. The company argues that cross-border agricultural commodities have historically resisted exchange-based trading because the underlying physical trade is fragmented, hard to verify, and nonstandardised. Maalexi’s bet is that its 36 months of live operational data — including 70% repeat customers — provides the verification layer that makes an exchange model viable.
For a global buyer or investor looking at the India–Gulf corridor, the round signals growing institutional appetite for infrastructure plays that bridge physical trade and digital assets. Tawuniya, a publicly traded Saudi insurer leading a pre-Series A round in an agri-trade platform, is not a routine venture allocation — it suggests a conviction that the corridor’s $100 billion-plus agricultural trade flows are ripe for financial infrastructure upgrades. The August 2025 shariah-compliant credit facility of up to $20 million from Amwal Capital Partner further anchors Maalexi’s balance-sheet readiness ahead of the Series A.
"At Tawuniya, we back businesses that strengthen financial infrastructure and improve market resilience," said Fahad Bin Muammar, chief investment officer of Tawuniya. "Maalexi has built a disciplined, risk-focused platform that connects physical agricultural trade with emerging digital asset infrastructure. We believe its regulated exchange model can improve transparency, efficiency and market access across global agricultural trade."
"This round marks an important milestone for Maalexi," said Dr. Azam Pasha, co-founder and CEO of Maalexi. "Tawuniya's leadership in this round reflects growing institutional confidence in our platform and in the opportunity to modernise agricultural trade infrastructure. Over the past three years, we have shown that physical agricultural trade can be verified, standardised and executed with lower risk. We are now building the exchange layer on top of that foundation."
The round positions Maalexi at an intersection that few startups in the corridor occupy: regulated exchange infrastructure sitting on top of verified physical commodity flows. Whether that thesis converts into Series A momentum will depend on the exchange launch and early liquidity — but the institutional signals are accumulating.
