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Powering innovation since 2013

TURN8 is the GCC’s leading innovation platform for corporate venture building and strategic investment.

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Our Story

From Venture Builder to Integrated Platform

Since 2013, TURN8 has operated at the intersection of corporate innovation and global startup acceleration. We have co-created ventures with corporate champions, designed and managed innovation programs for leading organizations, and connected hundreds of startups with enterprise customers and strategic capital.

Today, TURN8 strengthens this model with AI capabilities that accelerate market research, improve customer validation, increase operational efficiency, and enhance portfolio monitoring. AI amplifies team efforts and shortens innovation cycles from months to weeks, without replacing human judgment.

We have launched over 120 ventures, designed more than 20 venture building programs and CVCs, and built connections among corporates, startups, and investors to create measurable strategic and financial value. Our latest offering, AI Studio, delivers enterprise-grade operational automation to growth companies, enabling efficient scaling without significant increases in workforce.

Our focus remains constant: Evidence leads. Scale follows.

Our Presence

We’ve been embedded in GCC’s innovation ecosystem for over a decade. We have deep relationships with:

Government entities

National innovation programs

Corporate partners

Banking, logistics, healthcare, energy sectors

Investor networks

Family offices, CVCs, international VCs with GCC mandates

Startup ecosystem

Accelerators, incubators, co-working spaces

We understand GCC business culture, regulatory environments, and the specific needs of Vision 2030’s economic transformation.

Our Team and Network

TURN8 brings deep global and regional expertise in venture building, corporate innovation, venture capital, and operational transformation. For over a decade, our leadership team has worked with GCC champions, regional corporates, and institutional investors. Supported by a global network of partners and ecosystem builders, we are helping build the innovation infrastructure aligned with Vision 2030.

Leadership

Kamal Hassan

Kamal Hassan

Managing Partner and Founder

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Yousif Almutawa

Yousif Almutawa

Head of Venture Sourcing and Co-Founder

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AI Leadership Agents

TURN8 deploys proprietary AI leadership agents that support our teams in investment, technology, and go-to-market execution.

These agents are designed to support, not replace, human judgment.

Chief Investment Officer (CIO) AI Agent

Chief Investment Officer (CIO) AI Agent

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Chief Technology Officer (CTO) AI agent

Chief Technology Officer (CTO) AI agent

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Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) AI agent

Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) AI agent

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How Humans and AI Work Together at TURN8

This combination enables TURN8 to operate faster, with greater consistency and lower execution risk, while maintaining governance, transparency, and trust with our partners.

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AI handles pattern recognition, repetition, and data synthesis.

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Humans retain strategic judgment, accountability, and decision rights.

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Each deployment generates new data that improves the system over time.

Ready To Work With Us?

Whether you are launching a venture, building a CVC program, deploying AI, or entering the Saudi market, TURN8 offers the platform, methodology, and track record to support your success.

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Frequently Asked Questions

What is TURN8 and what is its history?

TURN8 is the GCC’s leading integrated innovation platform for corporate venture building and strategic investment. Since 2013, we have successfully launched over 120 ventures and designed more than 20 venture building and CVC programs worldwide.

TURN8 offers comprehensive services including end-to-end venture building, Corporate Venture Capital (CVC) program design, AI integration for products and operations, and startup acceleration. The focus is on enabling businesses to successfully launch and grow within Saudi Arabia and the GCC region.

We actively partner with national corporate champions, government entities, scaling startups, and sophisticated investors (like family offices and institutional funds) looking to build new ventures, enter the Saudi market, or scale using AI-driven solutions.

We have been deeply embedded in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) innovation ecosystem for over a decade. We understand the specific regulatory environments and business cultures required to support Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 economic transformation.

TURN8 is led by our Managing Partner and Founder, Kamal Hassan, and our Head of Venture Sourcing and Co-Founder, Yousif Almutawa. Our leadership team brings decades of global and regional expertise in venture capital, corporate innovation, and operational transformation.

We deploy proprietary “AI Leadership Agents”—including an AI Chief Investment Officer (CIO), CTO, and CMO. These agents support our human teams by handling pattern recognition, repetitive tasks, and data synthesis, allowing us to shorten innovation cycles from months to weeks.

No. Our AI leadership agents are strictly designed to support, not replace, human judgment. AI handles the heavy lifting of data and market research but our human operators retain full strategic judgment, accountability and final decision rights to ensure governance and trust with our partners.

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Chief Investment Officer (CIO) AI Agent

What it does

The CIO agent supports investment teams by:

  • Screening and scoring large volumes of opportunities against strategic and financial criteria.
  • Highlighting risk factors, governance gaps, and execution red flags.
  • Accelerating early-stage diligence through structured analysis.
  • Monitoring portfolio health in real time, including burn rate, milestone progress, and early warning signals.
  • Supporting evidence-based capital allocation and follow-on decisions.

Why we use it

Corporate venture capital and venture studios face time constraints and information gaps. The CIO agent improves consistency, speed, and signal quality in investment decisions while maintaining human accountability. This enables TURN8 teams to focus on judgment, relationships, and strategic trade-offs instead of manual analysis.

Chief Technology Officer (CTO) AI agent

What it does

The CTO agent supports teams by:

  • Evaluating technical architectures and system design choices.
  • Identifying automation and AI deployment opportunities within operations.
  • Assessing scalability, security, and integration risks.
  • Supporting technology roadmaps for ventures and platforms.
  • Monitoring system performance and surfacing optimization opportunities.

Why we use it

Many ventures fail due to early technical decisions that do not scale or integrate into enterprise environments. The CTO agent helps teams avoid common pitfalls, shorten build cycles, and maintain technical discipline, especially where speed and reliability are both required.

Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) AI agent

What it does

The CMO agent supports growth execution by:

  • Analyzing target segments, buyer behavior, and enterprise decision dynamics.
  • Supporting positioning, messaging, and value proposition development.
  • Testing and refining go-to-market hypotheses using real-time data.
  • Tracking traction metrics across pilots, partnerships, and early revenue.
  • Providing insight into why certain ventures convert, and others stall.

Why we use it

Early traction and enterprise adoption require precision over volume. The CMO agent enables teams to make data-driven go-to-market decisions, reduce trial-and-error, and focus on relationship-driven sales and partnerships rather than guesswork.

Kamal Hassan

Managing Partner and Founder

Kamal Hassan is the Founder and Managing Director of TURN8, leading the firm’s initiatives in corporate venture capital (CVC), venture studios, accelerators, and strategic innovation platforms. Over the past decade, he has designed and managed venture programs for corporates, sovereign entities, and family groups in Saudi Arabia, the GCC, the United States, and Europe.

 

Kamal has over 28 years of experience as a venture builder, investor, and corporate innovation leader. He has launched and scaled more than 120 ventures, managed over $500 million in capital across CVCs and venture funds, and contributed to approximately $2 billion in enterprise value through strategic investments and exits. His portfolio covers HealthTech, mobility, AI, medical devices, deep tech, energy, and advanced manufacturing, including two unicorns: Paack and what3words.

 

Before dedicating himself full-time to TURN8, Kamal was Managing Partner and VC-in-Residence at Mach49, where he led the GCC practice and delivered venture studios and CVC platforms for Global 1000 companies and sovereign-backed initiatives. He led multiple global venture studios and CVC programs, advising executive teams on governance, investment decisions, portfolio strategy, and commercialization.

 

Earlier, Kamal founded and led several startups and innovation platforms, served as General Partner at a venture capital fund, and held senior roles in corporate strategy and business development at technology companies that were later acquired. This blend of operator, investor, and advisor experience supports TURN8’s Bold + Bounded approach to evidence-led venture building.

 

Today, Kamal is a board member, board observer, and advisor to startups and venture funds from Seed to late stage. He is also an active angel investor and mentor to founders. He holds executive education credentials from The Wharton School and Harvard Business School and began his career as a genetic engineering researcher at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF).