Ilman Shazhaev, founder and CEO of Dizzaract, an AI and gaming infrastructure company based in Abu Dhabi, argues that valuation alone does not measure startup success. He contends that true unicorn status should require $1 billion in sustained revenue from customers who renew contracts, not merely a $1 billion valuation.
Shazhaev points to price deflation in AI performance. Since 2023, the cost of hitting a fixed level of AI performance has dropped thirteenfold every year. Startups that resell model access face brutal price competition, he says, citing OpenRouter's $113 million Series B as an example of a business where developers can swap between models through one shared interface.
He contrasts this with software embedded in a company's approvals, records and daily decisions, which he views as harder to replace. Shazhaev recommends investors check whether customers renew at full price and expand their contracts, then verify whether margins stay healthy after inference costs.
Shazhaev advocates for raising capital across regions. He points to 1001 AI's $30 million Series A, led by U.S. venture firm Lux Capital alongside Saudi PIF-backed Sanabil Investments, as an example of how capital, talent and customers can sit on different maps. Engineers work in London while customers operate in the Gulf.
Shazhaev distinguishes between venture funding and sovereign-backed money by the obligations attached to each check. U.S. and European venture investors have asked him how quickly Dizzaract could turn product adoption into repeatable sales before competitors caught up. Venture firms need returns within their fund's life, he says. Sovereign-backed investors ask different questions: where user data gets processed, which technical capabilities stay in the country, and whether local customers can rely on the service years from now.
He cautions that contract terms from sovereign-backed investors can make it harder to expand elsewhere, and that longer diligence and localization spending may be required. Shazhaev advises founders to read governance rights, exclusivity requests and promised commercial introductions before deciding whether an investor's regional reach justifies the constraints.
Shazhaev recommends tracking net revenue retention, production deployments and margins after delivery costs rather than glossy revenue forecasts.