Dubai-Based Popcorn AI Studio Raises $1M Pre-Seed to Build Arabic-Language AI Filmmaking Platform

Popcorn AI Studio, a Dubai-based AI video production platform founded by Egyptian entrepreneurs Shady Essam and Mohamed Hedar, has closed a $1 million pre-seed round led by Emirati serial entrepreneur and investor Mohammed Bin Bouta Alharsoosi. The funding will support AI technology development, international expansion, and the continued build-out of the company's integrated filmmaking platform, which allows creators to develop concepts, build characters, generate cinematic scenes, and produce multilingual content within a single workflow.

A key differentiator is the platform's focus on Arabic-language content, including native Arabic lip-sync and regional dialect support — a capability the company says addresses a significant gap in the global AI video landscape. Popcorn has also announced an AI filmmaking competition tied to the El Gouna Film Festival with a $70,000 prize pool, signalling early moves to embed itself in the broader filmmaking community.