Popcorn AI Studio, a Dubai startup that builds an AI platform for making films and videos, has raised $1m in a pre-seed funding package. The round was reported on 19 October 2026 by Wamda and Middle East AI News; the company's press release, published on Zawya, carries no date.
Mohammed Bin Bouta Alharsoosi, an Emirati serial entrepreneur and investor, led the round. Maram Hamam, an angel investor, is named in the release as an early backer of the company and serves as an adviser. The company did not disclose a valuation.
Wamda refers to the company as Popcorn Studio AI, while its own release uses the name Popcorn AI Studio and the web address PopcornStudio.ai.
“Our ambition isn't to replace filmmakers. It's to remove the barriers between imagination and execution.”Shady Essam, Co-founder and CEO, Popcorn AI Studio
What Popcorn AI Studio does
The platform puts the steps of video production in a single workflow instead of spreading them across separate tools. Users can write scripts, develop characters, generate scenes, add voiceovers and lip-sync, and finish work in post-production. The company also offers specialised studios for developing concepts, building characters, producing commercial videos and creating content in several languages.
Its main point of difference is Arabic. The platform supports native Arabic lip-sync and regional dialects, and the company describes itself as the Arab world's first AI-native video production platform, a claim it has not backed with figures. Middle East AI News reported that the startup targets brands and agencies in the Gulf and Egypt that need Arabic video in large volumes, and noted that most AI video generators handle Arabic poorly, especially lip-sync in dialect.
"Our ambition isn't to replace filmmakers. It's to remove the barriers between imagination and execution," said co-founder and chief executive Shady Essam.
The founders and backers
Popcorn AI Studio was founded in 2026, according to Wamda, by two Egyptian entrepreneurs. Essam has more than a decade of experience in digital media, advertising and creative technology, and previously founded Dmenta, which was bought by a regional media group. Co-founder and chief product officer Mohamed Hedar held senior marketing and growth roles at Alshaya Group and Al Tayer Group, working on retail and e-commerce in the Gulf.
Alharsoosi has spent about a decade founding and scaling technology businesses in the Middle East, and his interests include cybersecurity and AI, according to the release. He said the content market across the Middle East and North Africa is large and that AI is still at an early stage there, and described the founders as having vision, the ability to execute and a product that is already finding an audience. Hamam has 17 years of experience in venture capital and startups and advises the company on investment strategy, commercial development and expansion in Saudi Arabia and the wider Gulf.
Film festival ties
The company is an official partner of the El Gouna Film Festival and the Cairo International Film Festival. It has also announced an AI filmmaking competition linked to El Gouna, with a prize pool of $70,000 aimed at emerging filmmakers.
The startup has not published user numbers, revenue or a headcount, and no earlier funding has been reported.
What the money is for
Popcorn AI Studio said the funding will go towards developing its AI technology, adding products and growing its user base in the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Egypt, as well as building partnerships and expanding internationally.
Middle East AI News observed that $1m is a small sum compared with what it costs to compete with global video models, and suggested that the company's edge is more likely to come from its Arabic focus and integrated workflow than from the size of its models.
Company website: popcornstudio.ai