An article by Anil Kumar, country head for KSA at TASC Outsourcing The Saudi government has put a comprehensive Saudization policy in place to increase the number of nationals in the workforce. Forming part of the Vision 2030 scheme, this policy, which has evolved over the years, sees the government wanting to reduce unemployment from…

Saudi Arabia-based fintech Tabby has raised $160 million in a Series E financing round at a $3.3 billion valuation. The round was led by existing investors Blue Pool Capital and Hassana Investment Company and drew additional participation from STV and Wellington Management. Founded in 2019 in the UAE by Hosam Arab, Tabby is a buy…

Saudi Arabia-based fintech RasMal has closed a $4.8 million pre-Series A investment round led by Syndicate Element Holding Group (SHG). Founded in 2019 by Basil Alkuraya and Nasser Al-Tamimi, RasMal provides digital solutions to help private companies automate cap table management, fundraising, and equity transfers, while also supporting investors and private funds in managing investment…

Saudi Arabia-based logistics startup PIESHIP has closed its seed funding round of $2.1 million, led by Nama Ventures, with participation from SEEDRA Ventures and angel investors. Founded in 2023 by Nasser Alharthi, Musaed Al-Amri, and Mohammed Mohsen, PIESHIP provides its clients with warehouse management solutions, using an app for delivering shipments, and technical solutions for…

Saudi Arabia-based contech Buildnow has closed a $9.7 million funding round, led by STV and Arbah Capital, with additional funding from a mix of debt financing, reinforcing the company’s expansion plans in the market. Founded in 2022 by Hisham Al Saleh, Rahat Dewan, and Abdulla Sheikh, Buildnow is a build-now-pay-later platform that supplies materials on…

UK-founded UAE-HQ Insurtech startup AppliedAI has raised $55 million in a Series A funding round at a pre-investment valuation of $300 million. The round is led by G42, with participation from Palantir, Bessemer Venture Partners, McKinsey, and Accrete Capital. Founded in 2021 in the UK by Arya H. Bolurfrushan and relocated to the UAE in…

Saudi Arabia-based LAHINT e-services platform has closed a $1 million pre-seed funding round from undisclosed investors. Founded in 2023 by Ahmed Saber and Mohamed Ibrahim, LAHINT automates governmental services for individuals and businesses. LAHINT plans to utilise the funding to expand its governmental services through its platform. Also aims to feature AI-powered eligibility consultations for…

US-based AI and SaaS provider Salesforce has announced plans to invest $500 million in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, building on its commitment to innovation and economic growth in the region. The investment also aims to spur workforce development through AI skilling and expand Salesforce's local partner ecosystem to support local businesses. Investment will support enterprises…

Egypt-born and Saudi Arabia-HQ social e-commerce platform Taager has completed a $6.75 million pre-Series B funding round, led by Africa-focused tech growth fund Norrsken22. Founded in 2019 by Abdelrahman Sherief, Ahmed Ismail, Ismail Omar and Mohammed Elhorishy, Taager’s platform enables anyone to start and scale their own social e-commerce business by providing products, storage, shipping, and…

Press release: Penny Software, the digital procurement software, has signed a partnership with the National Housing Company (NHC) to develop SupplyPro, an innovative procurement platform tailored for the NHC housing sector. This collaboration marks a milestone in digitalising and streamlining procurement processes within Saudi Arabia's rapidly evolving housing industry. SupplyPro will serve as a centralised…