Vrtx, a Saudi Arabia-based fintech startup developing embedded finance infrastructure, has raised $3.6 million in a pre-seed funding round backed by SC Ventures, the venture-building arm of Standard Chartered, alongside Sadu Capital, BYLD, Suhail Ventures, F6 Ventures, Taz Investment and Palm Ventures
Founded by Mishal Bin Slimah and Omar Shaaban, Vrtx aims to simplify the integration of financial services into business products by enabling companies to embed digital wallets, payouts, card issuing, money transfers and transaction processing without having to build the underlying infrastructure themselves
The Riyadh-based startup has also received In-Principle Approval from the Saudi Central Bank (SAMA) for an Electronic Money Institution licence, marking a step toward offering its services within the Kingdom’s regulatory framework
Vrtx was established after its founders experienced the challenges of developing financial products firsthand. Bin Slimah and Shaaban previously worked together at Tweeq, an early Saudi digital financial platform that was acquired by Tabby, where they saw the technology, operational, compliance and security requirements involved in bringing financial services to market
The company is developing an infrastructure platform that brings these capabilities together, allowing businesses to integrate financial features into their products without independently building payment flows, financial systems and supporting operational processes from the ground up
Vrtx aims to help companies launch financial services faster through a secure testing environment, guided workflows and an operational infrastructure designed to support growth. The platform is intended to give businesses greater control over balances, transactions and financial rules while reducing the technical and operational complexity associated with embedded finance
Mishal Bin Slimah, Co-Founder and CEO of Vrtx, said the company aims to become a central platform through which businesses can access and build on the fintech capabilities suited to their products and requirements
“Building fintech products today is hard. Companies with a clear idea and real demand spend years assembling core infrastructure, operations and security before they serve a single customer,” Bin Slimah said. “Our goal is to make fintech capability a standard building block for any business, with Vrtx as the destination for the fintech capability they need”
Gabriel Heredia, Saudi Arabia Country Lead at SC Ventures by Standard Chartered, said the investment reflects the firm’s confidence in the growth of embedded finance in Saudi Arabia and the increasing role of financial infrastructure in enabling businesses across the Kingdom
Heredia added that Vrtx combines an understanding of the local market with the technology and capabilities needed to address this opportunity, noting that SC Ventures is supporting the company as it expands its platform and contributes to the development of Saudi Arabia’s fintech ecosystem
Youcef Oudjidane, Co-Founder and Managing Partner at BYLD, said embedded finance could become an important layer of economic infrastructure by integrating financial services into the businesses people use every day. He added that scaling the sector requires innovation to develop alongside regulation, highlighting Vrtx’s focus on regulatory compliance as a key factor behind BYLD’s investment decision
