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Manara

YC W21

San Francisco, US · Founded 2020 · 10 employees · 12 known investors

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Manara provides bilingual upskilling and reskilling training for teams in MENA in AI, cloud, and digital skills, partnering with governments, foundations, and organizations. The company combines global expertise with local implementation to help non-technical and technical professionals gain capabilities in emerging technologies.

AI & Machine LearningCloud ComputingEdTechEnterprise SoftwareHR TechEducationUnited States of AmericaAmerica / CanadaFully Remote

Founders & leadership· Y Combinator alumni (W21)

Manara was founded in 2020 by Iliana Montauk and Laila Abudahi.

IMIliana Montauk
Iliana MontaukCo-Founder and PresidentIliana Montauk previously served as a senior product manager at Google and Upwork, where she worked on talent-related products. She founded and bootstrapped a startup accelerator in Gaza, where she increased women's participation in pipeline activities and coordinated a major regional crowdfunding initiative.
LALaila Abudahi
Laila AbudahiCo-founder · Board Member
IMIliana Montauk
Iliana MontaukCo-Founder and President

Investors · 12

Valia Ventureslisted by Valia VenturesLondon · $50K – $50M

How we know: Valia Ventures's portfolio page · the VCSheet dataset · Y Combinator's founder network · Not right? Tell us

VentureSouqlisted by VentureSouqAbu Dhabi · $100K – $10M

How we know: Y Combinator's founder network · venturesouq.com · Not right? Tell us

Y Combinatorlisted by Y CombinatorSan Francisco · $500K

How we know: the Y Combinator directory · open dataset · 5k.vc investor directory · Not right? Tell us

COTU Venturesreported$150K – $2M

How we know: Y Combinator's founder network · Not right? Tell us

Harvard Management CompanyreportedAllston

How we know: Y Combinator's founder network · Not right? Tell us

MentorsreportedLynnwood

How we know: Y Combinator's founder network · Not right? Tell us

Phaze VenturesreportedMuscat

How we know: open dataset · 5k.vc investor directory · Not right? Tell us

Precursor VenturesreportedSan Francisco · $250K – $4M

How we know: Y Combinator's founder network · Not right? Tell us

Stripereported

How we know: techloy.com · Not right? Tell us

Ventures TogetherreportedLondon · $50K – $250K

How we know: Y Combinator's founder network · Not right? Tell us

Vogel.Io UG (Haftungsbeschränkt)reported

How we know: Y Combinator's founder network · Not right? Tell us

Funding

SEC filings, press & company announcements

Source: company announcements and press reports — follow each round's link for the claim.

Related companies · 7

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MathosMathos AI is an AI-powered math solver and tutoring platform that helps students solve math problems across algebra, calculus, geometry, and physics through photo capture, voice input, or text. The platform provides step-by-step explanations, homework assistance, and interactive learning games for students.
Excellence LearningExcellence is an AI-powered educational platform designed for teachers to manage and enhance classroom use of AI tools. It provides teachers with features for generating personalized assignments, creating exams, building interactive learning materials, and tracking student progress while keeping handwritten work as the foundation of learning.
PreplyPreply is a language learning platform that serves corporate employees through its B2B offering Preply Business, enabling companies to provide language education to their workforce.
AccioJobAccioJob provides online and offline skill training courses in software development and technology, with mentorship and job placement support for students seeking roles at Indian tech companies.
CodingalCodingal offers online after-school programs combining human teachers and AI-powered learning to teach coding, AI, math, and public speaking to K-12 students globally. The platform helps children build foundational computer science skills and future-ready competencies through live classes and self-paced learning paths.
SuperKalamSuperKalam is an AI-powered education platform that provides personalized mentorship and adaptive study planning for students preparing for competitive exams like the UPSC in India. The platform tracks student progress, identifies common mistakes, and sets daily learning targets to improve outcomes.

Companies working in the same space as Manara.

Legal entities · 1

corporate structure
Manara, Co.

In the news

Manara gets $3M to grow tech talent pool in the Middle East and North Africa – TechCrunchtechcrunch.com · May 2022

Frequently asked questions

What does Manara do?
Manara provides bilingual upskilling and reskilling training for teams in MENA in AI, cloud, and digital skills, partnering with governments, foundations, and organizations. The company combines global expertise with local implementation to help non-technical and technical professionals gain capabilities in emerging technologies.
Who founded Manara?
Manara was founded by Iliana Montauk, Laila Abudahi in 2020.
Who are Manara's investors?
Manara's investors include Seedcamp, Valia Ventures, VentureSouq, Y Combinator, COTU Ventures, Harvard Management Company, Mentors, Phaze Ventures and 4 more.
Where is Manara headquartered?
Manara is headquartered in San Francisco, US.