Saudi Arabia’s Startup Ecosystem: A Rising Investment Landscape
Riyadh continues to witness a remarkable surge in its startup ecosystem, particularly in technology-oriented sectors such as artificial intelligence (AI), food technology, logistics, and sports. This trend has led to increased investments, especially in the early and growth stages.
Significant Investments in Foodics
Recently, Kamco Invest announced its acquisition of a stake in FOODICS, a rapidly growing catering and payment technology platform based in Saudi Arabia. The transaction, which was finalized in the fourth quarter of 2024 but announced recently, underscores Kamco’s strategy of supporting high-growth technology companies in the Middle East and North Africa.
Founded in 2014, Foodics currently serves over 33,000 restaurants and is projected to exceed an annual gross merchandise value of $10 billion by 2024. The cloud-based platform offers an integrated management solution for restaurant operators, covering orders, operations, finance, and capital access through a unified interface.
Calo’s Expansion and Funding Success
Calo, another standout in the Saudi food technology sector, recently secured $39 million in a Series B funding round led by Aljazira Capital. This brings its total Series B funding to $64 million. The company aims to utilize this capital for international expansion and to enhance its recently acquired meal subscription services.
With a record of delivering over 10 million meals in 2024, Calo ranks among the fastest-growing meal subscription services globally. CEO Ahmed Al-Rawi emphasized the transformative potential of AI in the food industry, expressing excitement about Calo’s innovative approaches to healthy eating.
Flex League: Revolutionizing Sports Technology
Flex League, a Saudi sports technology firm, has successfully raised a significant seed funding round focused on Padel and Tennis. The new funding will facilitate the development of a legal reservation system, expansion into new cities, and team enhancements in engineering, product development, and operations.
Currently catering to nearly 10,000 players, Flex League offers a platform for competitive leagues, court bookings, and match results tracking. CEO Ibrahim Akeel noted that this investment helps create a unified space for players to connect and compete while enhancing community engagement through digital and physical interactions.
SAWT: Pioneering Arabic Voice Tech
SAWT, a Saudi startup dedicated to Arabic voice technologies, has raised $1 million in a pre-seed round. This funding will aid in refining its voice models and scaling up its technical infrastructure. The platform facilitates customer support, reservations, and sales through AI-driven voice agents that provide natural and intelligent responses 24/7.
In just two months since its launch, SAWT has already facilitated hundreds of thousands of calls for numerous companies. Co-founder and CEO Abdulmalik Al-Saeed expressed pride in developing cutting-edge technology tailored for the Arabic-speaking market.
Omniops: Transforming Sovereign Services
Omniops has unveiled Bunyan, the first lower sovereign platform-as-a-service in Saudi Arabia. Developed in collaboration with the Minister of Communications and Information Technologies, this platform aims to support various AI applications while ensuring data sovereignty and business compliance.
CEO Mohammed Al-Tassan highlighted the platform’s impressive efficiency gains, including a doubling of inference speeds and reduced energy consumption by over 50%. Bunyan allows organizations to create AI applications like chatbots and data extraction systems with ease.
Olivery: Advancing Logistics Solutions
Olivery, a B2B SaaS startup focused on digitizing logistics operations, has successfully secured seed funding from the IBTIKAR Fund and Flat6labs Mashreq Seed Fund. This financing will be utilized to expand its regional presence and introduce AI-oriented features, such as predictive routing and automated customer support.
Having served more than 200 customers across nine countries since its inception in 2020, Olivery aims to provide logistics solutions that meet the demands of modern commerce, according to CEO Ram Merei.
Mataa: Strengthening E-commerce in Libya
Mataa, a burgeoning e-commerce platform based in Libya, recently concluded its first seed funding round with the support of Libyan Business Angels. The funds will enhance Mataa’s logistics network and expand its warehouse capacity, allowing it to better serve the over six million internet users in Libya.
CEO Ibrahim Shuwehdi emphasized that the funding not only bolsters Mataa’s financial standing but also signals a growing investor confidence in Libya’s entrepreneurial landscape. The company aims to attract experienced talent to support its long-term strategy for growth.