San Francisco, CA — June 30, 2026 — Propeller, the venture capital firm focused on AI technology and infrastructure, announced the successful conclusion of Kernel Camp, its inaugural deep-tech residency program based in silicon Valley.
Five startups from Tunisia, Morocco, Jordan, and Egypt completed an intensive eight-week residency in the Bay Area, designed to accelerate company building, receive mentorship from leaders at the frontier of artificial intelligence development, and connect with global investors.
The five Kernel Camp 2026 startups, selected from the top 3% of applicants, represent the frontier of AI infrastructure, developer tooling, and cybersecurity:
- OORB (Tunisia): A robotics observability platform that captures every robot run, scores reliability, and identifies what changed when behavior breaks.
- Techbible (Morocco): An AI Stack Manager for modern companies that maps every SaaS tool and AI agent, tracks spend, usage, and renewals, and shows you what software is actually doing the work.
- FirstFlow (Jordan): The activation layer for AI agents, an in-chat onboarding platform that guides users from first message to full adoption through structured clarification widgets embedded directly in the agent’s chat interface.
- Nexguards (Egypt): AI-powered social engineering platform, providing personalized cyber attack simulation and awareness training for enterprises.
- Flowbrave (Morocco): Intelligent operations platform that bridges the Execution Gap, turning static processes into dynamic, AI-guided workflows for flawless performance.
Throughout the residency, founders engaged directly with operators, executives, and investors shaping the future of AI and software, through weekly mentorship dinners featuring leaders from Airbnb, Meta, OpenAI, JP Morgan, Cartesia, Rho, Lux Capital, Mozilla Ventures, Plug and Play, and Mentors Fund.
The cohort also joined a dedicated angel investor happy hour event hosted at Silicon Valley Bank’s offices on Sand Hill Road, bringing together a group of Bay Area angels for direct access to the startups.
The cohort also participated in a series of site visits to leading Silicon Valley technology companies, offering firsthand exposure to the teams, cultures, and operating environments behind some of the world’s most influential AI and software businesses.
Zaid Farekh, Founder & Managing Partner at Propeller, said: ”We believe MENA produces founders capable of building globally significant companies, but talent alone isn’t enough. Kernel Camp is designed to immerse founders in the networks, operating culture, and technical communities that have historically accelerated the world’s most ambitious startups.”
Hani Azzam, Partner at Propeller, added: “The question was never whether MENA founders could compete globally. Kernel Camp was about giving them the environment to prove it, and this cohort did exactly that.”
The final showcase took place on May 30th and featured live startup pitches, followed by a panel exploring the growing impact of MENA talent within Silicon Valley startups. A panel discussion exploring the growing impact of MENA talent within Silicon Valley startups with Ahmed Rashad (Perle AI) and Ahmad Saeddedin (Corgea, YC S23), and a fireside chat with Waseem Alshikh, CTO and Co-Founder of Writer.
Building on the momentum of its first cohort, Propeller is already preparing the next edition of Kernel Camp, with plans to continue bringing exceptional founders from the MENA region into the heart of Silicon Valley’s AI and technology ecosystem.
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About Propeller
Founded in 2017, Propeller is a global venture capital firm investing in early-stage startups building AI infrastructure, developer tools, and deep software across the U.S. and the MENA region. Propeller invests at Seed and Pre-A stages in founders building horizontal AI infrastructure and AI-native applications, from silicon-adjacent to enterprise workflows. The firm operates from Amman, Riyadh, Boston, and Silicon Valley, and manages Fund III, a $50 million fund supporting technically ambitious founders and accelerating cross-border innovation between MENA and the US
Website: propellerinc.me
Media Contact: [email protected]
