News

Flat6Labs Is Seeking The Next Big Levant Region Startups

The program will focus on women, minorities, and internally-displaced entrepreneurs.

Published

4 years ago

March 9, 2023

Nour Nasir

Flat6Labs

Flat6Labs, the MENA venture capital and accelerator, hopes to boost underserved demographics based in Jordan, Lebanon, Iraq, and the Levant region. Announced this week, Flat6Labs’ program will focus on women, minorities, and internally-displaced entrepreneurs.

Open to people aged 18-45, Flat6Labs is searching for entrepreneurs in “education, fintech, financial inclusion, healthcare technology, agriculture, environment, and information and communication technology”.

The program will comprise three main tracks: StartMashreq Academy, the Growth Support Program, and the Incubation program, with the latter featuring interactive sessions, seminars, training courses on specialized topics, and articles from leading regional experts.

Also Read: Nearly All Saudi Gen Z & Millennials Will Be AR Users By 2025

“The Arab world, and the Levant region in particular, has always been full of promising young people with big ambitions. Unfortunately, many of the youth in our region lack access to the tools, resources, and opportunities they need to succeed. Through this initiative, we hope to inspire an entrepreneurial movement and provide the tools and resources necessary to nurture that movement,” says Yehia Houry, Flat6Labs Chief Programs Officer.

For the startup incubation part of the program, four cycles will take place, helping participants to build business plans and growth strategies, along with various mentorship sessions.

News

Abu Dhabi’s Robot Kitchen Is Serving Up Biryani, Not Burgers

Circus SE wants to put a tiny automated factory inside the buildings where Gulf residents live and work, bypassing part of last-mile delivery.

Published

6 days ago

October 20, 2026

Nour Nasir

abu dhabi's robot kitchen is serving up biryani not burgers

Circus SE

The most telling thing about a new autonomous kitchen now running in Abu Dhabi’s Marina Square is what it won’t cook:

“We don’t do fast food,” says Nikolas Bullwinkel, Founder and CEO of Circus SE. “We’ve actively decided not to build a machine that can only do burgers”.

Instead, the CA-1 system is built around pot-based cooking: curries, pastas, soups and rice dishes. After experimenting with highly personalized recipes, Circus deliberately leaned back toward recognizable food. “We’re going with a chicken biryani because you know it,” Bullwinkel says of the AED 40 dish.

circus se ca-1 robot system

The Germany-based robotics and food technology company operates across eight countries, and Abu Dhabi is its first deployment outside Europe. More locations are expected there and in Dubai.

In Germany, its units can be placed in supermarkets, gas stations, airports and hospitals. In the Gulf, Bullwinkel wants them inside residential and office buildings, replacing some of the complexity of last-mile delivery. “We’re basically bringing a very tiny factory a few square meters into your building,” he says. Catering company Royal Prestige supplies the ingredients and knowledge of local tastes.

The CA-1 manages up to 36 refrigerated ingredient silos alongside automated induction cooking, robotic plating and a self-cleaning dishwasher. Two robotic arms move ingredients through the system with minimal human intervention. It can produce up to 120 hot meals an hour, and a meal such as rice and curry can take around three to four minutes.

Also Read: Ooredoo Qatar’s 5G+ Network Is Built For Machines As Much As People

Five cameras and multiple sensors monitor heat, temperature and consistency, an attempt to approximate what a chef perceives. “You can hear something gets burned, you can smell it, you can see it at some point,” Bullwinkel says. CircusOS, the company’s operating system, adjusts recipes in real time.

You might think of the platform as a threat to kitchen staff, but Bullwinkel frames Circus as a way for chefs to develop recipes and distribute them at scale. With that being said, rising labor costs and shortages are also part of his case for automation.