Mehdi Ghissassi
About Mehdi Ghissassi
Mehdi Ghissassi is based in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. He is Chief Product and Technology Officer at ai71, an enterprise AI company. <cite index="6-5">ai71 was launched in 2023 to bring open-source models such as Falcon to enterprise solutions.</cite> He joined ai71 in 2024.
Before that he spent about eight years at Google DeepMind. <cite index="8-7">Crunchbase lists him as Director and Head of Product there from June 2019 to November 2024.</cite> A podcast biography says <cite index="2-6">he built and led the product team at DeepMind, then moved to Google Brain and other Google Research teams, where he co-led product.</cite> <cite index="2-5">Earlier, he worked on new products in the Google Enterprise team (now Google Cloud) and the Google Emerging Markets team, focusing on Africa.</cite>
He has other board and advisory roles. <cite index="8-4">Crunchbase says he is an independent director and chair of the AI & Innovation Committee at Teleperformance and Saham Bank.</cite> <cite index="2-8">He has also sat on the advisory board of CapitalG, Google's growth equity fund.</cite> <cite index="6-6">His education includes an engineering degree from Ecole Polytechnique, a master's from Sciences-Po Paris and an MBA from Columbia University.</cite>
Crunchbase counts 36 investments for Mehdi Ghissassi, with no lead investments recorded. He appears in seed rounds as a named angel next to institutional leads, not as the lead.
One podcast biography describes him as <cite index="2-8">a very active angel investor in the AI and Research/Science space through the Atomico Angel Investing Program.</cite> <cite index="3-1">Northzone describes him as a serial AI angel investor.</cite>
Examples of rounds he joined, from company announcements and press:
<cite index="13-1">Viso, a Swiss no-code computer vision platform, raised a $9.2 million seed led by Accel, with Ghissassi among the angels.</cite> That round closed in October 2023.
<cite index="14-1">Stackfix, a London AI software comparison platform, raised a $3 million seed led by Chalfen Ventures, with Seedcamp, helloworld, and angels including Ghissassi.</cite> That round was in December 2024.
<cite index="12-2">Pomo announced a $4.5 million seed round led by Kindred Ventures in April 2026, with Ghissassi among the angels.</cite>
Crunchbase shows 30 AI investments since 2023. His AI portfolio there includes Qevlar AI, Datagon AI, Gradium, White Circle, Magic, Stackfix, Airspeed, Biolevate, Twin, Instill AI, Parsed and Spore.Bio.
Public sources add more names. <cite index="1-1">An Angel Registry update lists him among the seed investors in White Circle, an AI control platform, in a round it reports at $11M.</cite> <cite index="15-1">EasyVC reports he took part in the €6M seed round of French healthcare startup Biolevate, reported on 26 November 2024.</cite> In a podcast interview he was asked about his investments in Glyphic and Context.AI. Crunchbase's recent investments list also shows Marker (seed), Scope AI (Series A), Pomo (seed), Cercli (Series A), Afori, Forgent AI, Palabra.ai and Lightpanda (all pre-seed).
He is also a speaker on AI infrastructure. <cite index="9-1">At HumanX he joined a session on whether Europe and the Middle East can build their own AI stack.</cite>
Stage: his public record is mostly pre-seed and seed rounds, plus some Series A rounds (Scope AI and Cercli on Crunchbase). He joins rounds led by other funds.
Sectors: AI is the common thread. <cite index="2-8">He has described his angel focus as AI and research or science.</cite> A podcast host describes him as an <cite index="7-3">angel investor focused on AI, deep tech, and sovereign innovation.</cite> His portfolio includes enterprise AI, voice AI, healthcare and biotech, AI safety and marketing software.
Geography: companies in his public portfolio are based in the UK, France, Switzerland and the US, among others.
Check size: he has not published a typical check size or an investment thesis that we could find. Founders should not assume any range.
- White Circle: AI control platform that aims to stop AI models from going rogue in the workplace; seed round reported at $11M.
- Stackfix: London-based AI software comparison platform; $3M seed in December 2024.
- Pomo: agentic marketing intelligence platform; $4.5M seed in April 2026.
- Viso.ai: Swiss no-code computer vision platform; $9.2M seed in October 2023.
- Biolevate: French healthcare startup; €6M seed reported in November 2024.
- Gradium: seed investment listed on Crunchbase and in his AI portfolio.
- Qevlar AI, Datagon AI, Magic, Airspeed, Twin, Instill AI, Parsed, Spore.Bio: AI portfolio companies listed on Crunchbase; dates not public in the sources used.
- Context.ai and Glyphic: investments mentioned in a podcast interview.
- crunchbase.com/person/9a46ba4e-c113-4ed0-b5bb-1ab7693d5551
- crunchbase.com/person/mehdi-ghissassi
- linkedin.com/in/mghissassi
- superdatascience.com/podcast/sds-735-a-i-product-management-with-googl
- ai71.ai/about-us
- humanx.co/europe/speakers/mehdi-ghissassi
- northzone.com/2026/01/21/operator-group-chat-ai-engineers
- beyonddevelopers.substack.com/p/the-unicorn-cto-podcast-2
AI portfolio
Investing activity
Mehdi Ghissassi has made 36 investments according to Crunchbase. 30 of those investments since 2023 were in AI companies, including Qevlar AI, Datagon AI, Gradium, White Circle and Magic.
Mehdi Ghissassi appears in 2 AI deals tracked by the Lounge deals desk. The rounds are mostly Seed, with a median round size of $5M. The most recent are Pomo (Seed, $4.5M, Jun 2026) and Pomo (Seed, $4.5M, Apr 2026).
Mehdi Ghissassi most often invests alongside Kindred Ventures, Seven Stars Ventures, Databricks Ventures and SV Angel, and the companies they back on Lounge are mostly in AI.
Deals
Frequently asked questions about Mehdi Ghissassi
Who is Mehdi Ghissassi?
He is an Abu Dhabi-based angel investor and Chief Product and Technology Officer at ai71. He was previously Director and Head of Product at Google DeepMind.
What kinds of startups does Mehdi Ghissassi invest in?
His public investments are mostly early-stage AI companies. They include enterprise AI, voice, healthcare, AI safety and marketing software.
Does Mehdi Ghissassi lead rounds?
Crunchbase records 0 lead investments. In public announcements he appears as an angel next to lead funds such as Accel, Kindred Ventures and Chalfen Ventures.
How many investments has Mehdi Ghissassi made?
Crunchbase counts 36 investments, 30 of them AI investments since 2023. Other trackers report different totals, so treat the number as approximate.
What check size does Mehdi Ghissassi write?
He has not published a check size that we could find. Pre-seed and seed founders can reach him through LinkedIn.
Where is Mehdi Ghissassi based?
Crunchbase and LinkedIn list Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. Some older directories list London.
Is Mehdi Ghissassi an angel investor?
Yes. Mehdi Ghissassi invests personally as an angel. Crunchbase counts 36 investments.
What AI companies has Mehdi Ghissassi invested in?
Mehdi Ghissassi's AI investments include Qevlar AI, Datagon AI, Gradium, White Circle, Magic, Stackfix, Airspeed and Biolevate. The 2 rounds on Lounge are listed on this page with amounts, dates and co-investors.
What stage does Mehdi Ghissassi invest at?
In the rounds tracked on Lounge, Mehdi Ghissassi has invested at Seed, with a median round of $5M.
Who does Mehdi Ghissassi co-invest with?
Mehdi Ghissassi's most frequent co-investors on Lounge are Kindred Ventures (2 deals), Seven Stars Ventures (2 deals), Databricks Ventures (2 deals), SV Angel (2 deals) and Massimo Mascaro (2 deals).