Sharikat Mubasher: Propeller, a venture capital firm focused on AI infrastructure, announced it has welcomed five deep-tech startups from the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) to Silicon Valley as part of the inaugural cohort of its Kernel Camp residency program.

As per a recent press release, the eight-week program brings founders from Tunisia, Morocco, Jordan, and Egypt to the Bay Area, offering them direct access to Silicon Valley’s network of engineers, operators, and investors. Kernel Camp aims to bridge the gap between MENA’s growing pool of technical talent and the global AI infrastructure ecosystem by embedding startups into the region’s innovation environment.

The first cohort includes OORB from Tunisia, which provides a cloud robotics workspace for building and testing ROS projects in the browser; Eli by Techbible from Morocco, an AI Stack Manager that helps companies track SaaS and AI tool spending; Firstflow from Jordan, which develops onboarding and analytics tools for AI agents; Nexguards from Egypt, a platform focused on personalized cyber-attack simulation and security awareness; and Flowbrave from Morocco, an intelligent operations platform that converts static business processes into AI-guided workflows.

First announced in December 2025, following the launch of Propeller’s Fund III, Kernel Camp targets technically strong founders with early traction. The residency includes sponsored housing, workshops, guest sessions, office hours with experienced builders, and visits to leading technology companies and venture firms across the Bay Area.

The program will conclude with a demo day in May 2026, where participating startups will present their progress to Propeller’s Bay Area community of founders, engineers, and investors.