Lucid Capital Secures $2.5M Seed Round to Boost AI Trading Ambitions in UAE

Editorial Team

Last updated 24-12-2025

3 min

Lucid Capital, based in the UAE, raises USD 2.

5 million to enhance AI trading systems.

Tharawat Holding led the funding round, supported by Singular Link, boosting regional interest in AI trading.

They secured commitments up to USD 200 million for expansion into US equities and digital assets.

Founded in 2022, it develops AI models to optimise market trading without institutional disruption.

The UAE is becoming a key player in cross-border fintech operations, driven by AI advancements.

Lucid Capital, a fintech outfit now rooted in the UAE, has secured a fresh USD 2.5 million in seed funding to push its AI-driven algorithmic trading systems further. The round was led by Tharawat Holding with support from Singular Link, and it seems to mark another step in the region’s growing appetite for data-led trading strategies. I’ve seen this shift up close while speaking with founders around Arageek’s community, and it’s spot on with what many startups here are chasing: smarter tools, faster execution, and the courage to scale beyond borders.

Alongside the seed round, the company also locked in capital commitments of up to USD 200 million from financial institutions and accredited investors. That’s no small change, and it signals serious confidence in Lucid’s ability to grow its trading strategies across US equities and digital assets. On the flip side, raising big commitments is one thing; deploying them effectively is quite another, and I reckon that’s where the real test begins.

Lucid Capital was set up in 2022 by San Shi, Yiyi Guo, and Hamad Al Dghair. Although it started life in the United States, the team later shifted its base to the UAE as operations expanded. The company builds advanced AI models and autonomous agents designed to react to market shifts in real time, adjust trading frequency on the fly, and optimise execution without causing a big faff for institutional players looking for stability. And believe it or not, the founders say they want to sit right at the intersection of hardcore AI research and the infrastructure that keeps institutional trading humming.

The broader story here feels familiar. More fintechs are building globally distributed teams from day one, hopping between hubs like New York, Dubai, and Singapore to tap talent, capital, and regulatory breathing room. I remember chatting with a young founder at an Arageek workshop last year who said that operating across markets early on felt “terrifying but necessary,” and that line keeps echoing when I see startups like Lucid expanding their footprint so quickly.

For the UAE, it’s another sign of the region’s growing pull for cross-border fintech operations, especially those leaning heavily on AI. And for Lucid Capital, the combination of seed funding and large-scale commitments sets the stage for a period of real momentum—if they play their cards right, of course. The company is definately positioning itself for a bigger role in the evolving world of algorithmic trading, and we’ll be watching how it navigates the next chapter.

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