1001 Raises $30 million Series A led by Lux Capital to scale sovereign AI for critical infrastructure protection and resilience.

1001, a GCC- and London-based company building sovereign AI systems for critical infrastructure, has raised $30 million in Series A funding led by Lux Capital. PIF-owned Sanabil Investments, 9Yards and Hanabi joined as new investors, while existing backers General Catalyst, CIV and Stanford researcher Chris Ré increased their commitments. Angel investors participating in the round include Karim Atiyeh of Ramp, Kareem Amin of Clay, and Russell Kaplan of Cognition.

Founded in 2025 by Bilal Abu-Ghazaleh, 1001 develops AI systems that operate above an operator's existing infrastructure, modeling every asset, process and dependency in real time. Rather than simply monitoring operations, the platform anticipates failures and recommends or executes corrective action. Critically, systems are built, owned and governed locally, allowing clients to retain control of infrastructure they cannot afford to have disrupted.

Abu-Ghazaleh noted that GCC business leaders seek sovereign AI systems capable of trusted, real-time decision-making rather than pilots. "Deena Shakir, Partner at Lux Capital, expressed pride in backing 1001, stating the firm was pleased to support a company proving that frontier AI for critical infrastructure can be built and governed locally rather than imported. A spokesperson from Sanabil Investments added that 1001 is well positioned as a sovereign AI partner across the region's infrastructure sectors.

The capital will be deployed to expand 1001's engineering team and commercial presence across GCC markets. According to McKinsey estimates, AI adoption could add up to $150 billion to GCC economies.