A year after Rocket Fuel: Lisan’s growth story

When Lisan took to the Rocket Fuel stage at LEAP 2025, we knew the company was already tackling one of AI's biggest blind spots: building enterprise AI for Arabic from the ground up, rather than adapting products designed for English.

A year later, the results speak for themselves.

Since winning the Shooting Star Award at Rocket Fuel, Lisan has grown into a secure enterprise intelligence platform serving government and large institutional customers across the region. The company has reached approximately USD $2.6 million in annual recurring revenue (ARR), maintained 95%+ gross margins, and achieved 0% churn across its government customers.

Today, Lisan works with organisations including the Digital Government Authority, Ministry of Industry, Federal National Council, National Security Center, alongside other government and enterprise customers. Its AI platform supports meeting intelligence, document automation, writing, translation and productivity workflows – with a particular focus on secure, sovereign and on-premise AI deployments.

Why enterprise AI for Arabic is different

We asked Noor Alasadi (Founder and CEO at Lisan) about the product philosophy driving that growth, and he said: 

“Building AI natively for regional enterprise needs is very different from simply localising English-first products. Arabic has deep linguistic complexity, multiple dialects, formal and institutional writing standards, and very specific requirements in government environments. This is why Lisan focuses on accuracy, security, institutional style, and deployment flexibility from the ground up.”

That focus has become increasingly important as governments and regulated industries look for AI systems that can operate securely while understanding the linguistic and operational realities of Arabic-speaking organisations.

The Rocket Fuel effect

Rocket Fuel marked an important inflection point in Lisan's growth.

"Rocket Fuel and LEAP were an important milestone for us," added Alasadi. "It helped us get more clients in Saudi Arabia, regional visibility, credibility with investors and enterprise partners."

Those outcomes reflect exactly what we design Rocket Fuel to deliver. Beyond recognising promising startups, the competition gives founders a platform to showcase their technology in front of investors, enterprise buyers and decision-makers from around the world. For Lisan, that visibility translated into more clients in Saudi Arabia and stronger credibility with investors and enterprise partners.

Growth backed by results

For Lisan, the momentum has driven measurable business growth. A year on from Rocket Fuel, the company is serving government and large institutional customers across the region, while continuing to expand its enterprise AI platform around the needs of highly regulated customers.

This startup’s journey shows that Rocket Fuel isn’t only about recognising potential. We’re here to enable real outcomes – helping ambitious startups turn that potential into commercial traction.

And as LEAP continues to spotlight the next generation of tech companies, stories like Lisan's show what can happen when innovative founders meet the right audience at the right moment.

Think your startup could be next? Find out more about Rocket Fuel so you can be in the running for 2027.