Egyptian agentic artificial intelligence (AI) customer experience startup Tactful AI has secured investment from Hatem Dowidar, former group chief executive of e&, as it extends its pre-Series A funding round.
The undisclosed investment comes after the company raised US$1 million in a round co-led by Foras AI and M Empire, giving it backing as it prepares to launch a next-generation platform.
Founded by Mohamed Elmasry, Mohammad Hassan and Sherif Khairallah, Tactful develops technology that helps businesses manage customer interactions across multiple channels.
Dowidar said enterprises are seeking ways to adopt AI safely, adding that Tactful had deployed its infrastructure in live production environments.
The funding supports the startup’s next phase of growth and its ambition to reshape customer service operations.
What Does Tactful AI Do
Tactful AI brings customer conversations into one place, helping companies manage interactions that might otherwise be scattered across phone calls, emails, websites and social media.
Its unified customer experience platform gives businesses a dashboard to manage, engage with and understand customers’ journeys across touch points. The company’s technology is designed to let enterprises build, modify and evolve customer experience workflows in-house.
Tactful says the platform aims to cut development cycles from months to hours while retaining human sign-off at every step.
The approach could help organisations respond more quickly to changing customer needs, while keeping people involved in decisions and actions requiring oversight.
The planned launch is a central reason the investment arrives at a pivotal moment for the startup.
Hatem Dowidar Backing Tactful AI’s Next Growth Phase
The investment also brings industry experience to Tactful’s expansion plans. Dowidar spent more than 25 years in telecommunications and technology, serving as e& group CEO from 2020 until March 2026 after joining as chief operating officer in 2015. He also led Vodafone Egypt for 16 years.
He said enterprises across the region were looking for reliable ways to integrate AI into customer operations “safely and at scale,” and described Tactful’s infrastructure as deployed in live production environments.
Dowidar added that the capabilities of its technology convinced him the team could “set the industry benchmark, both regionally and globally.”
His backing may offer capital, strategic insight and credibility as the startup seeks larger enterprise customers, although the investment amount was not disclosed.
Founders Reacquire Startup as Revenue and Customer Conversations Surge
Tactful’s corporate history includes a change in ownership. The startup was acquired by European communications company Dstny in 2022, but its founders reacquired it in July 2025 as it entered a new growth phase.
The investment follows rapid growth. Since January 2025, Tactful’s annual recurring revenue has risen 11.7 times, while monthly customer conversations processed through its platform have increased 32-fold, according to the report.
Annual recurring revenue is an estimate of the yearly value of ongoing contracts, so the growth multiple indicates expansion but does not reveal the company’s absolute revenue or profitability.
Its clients include Elaraby Group, Raneen, 2B, Lucky One, Erada Finance and Simplex. The figures suggest rising usage, while absolute revenue and profitability remain undisclosed publicly.
Tactful AI Targets Series A Funding in 2027
Tactful plans to raise a Series A funding round in 2027, moving toward a larger financing stage after its pre-Series A round.
Such funding typically helps a startup scale after it has shown evidence of commercial traction, although the company has not disclosed the amount it hopes to raise.
Founder Mohamed Elmasry said Dowidar understood what large enterprises need before trusting new customer-facing technologies.
“His support and trust come at a pivotal moment,” Elmasry said, describing the company’s effort to define “a new era of agentic AI-driven customer experience.”
The next test will be whether Tactful can turn its reported growth and upcoming product launch into sustained adoption.
Its focus on human sign-off also addresses a concern for businesses: deploying AI in customer operations without surrendering oversight of consequential decisions.
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