RIYADH: Saudi Arabia emerged as this week’s main mover in startup activity across the region, with five firms announcing new funding across fintech, health tech, and business operations.
The largest deal in the sector from the Kingdom came from fintech Stitch, which raised $25 million in series A funding led by Andreessen Horowitz — also known as a16z — marking the US-based firm’s first investment in the Gulf Cooperation Council region.
The round included participation from Arbor Ventures, COTU Ventures, Raed Ventures, and SVC. Founded in 2022 by Mohamed Oueida, Stitch develops a cloud-native operating system for financial institutions covering lending, cards, payments, and ledgers.
The company claims it processed more than $5 billion in transactions over the last six months, while its customer base grew 10 times in 2025.
Stitch said the funding will support product development, regional expansion across the Middle East and North Africa, and global go-to-market growth.
The round follows Stitch’s $10 million seed round, closed a year ago, from investors including Arbor Ventures, COTU Ventures, Raed Ventures, and SVC, among others.
TruKKer secures up to $300m securitization facility from ADCB
MENA-based digital freight network TruKKer has secured an inaugural trade receivables securitization facility of up to $300 million, arranged and funded by Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank.
The facility is backed by portfolios of trade receivables across the UAE, Saudi Arabia, and Turkiye. The transaction is among the GCC’s first multi-jurisdictional, asset-backed securitizations structured for a high-growth technology startup.
Founded in 2016 by Gaurav Biswas, TruKKer operates a digital freight network across the Middle East and Central Asia using AI-driven logistics technology.
The financing was structured as a non-recourse securitization using a Murabaha facility harmonized across multiple legal jurisdictions. TruKKer said the facility will support the expansion of its digital freight network, carrier optimization, and continued regional growth.
Aumet raises $12m series A led by Emkan Capital
Saudi Arabia-based health tech Aumet has raised $12 million in series A funding led by Emkan Capital.
The round included participation from Qatar Development Bank, SABAH VC, and AAIC, alongside existing investors Shorooq Partners and Right Side Capital Management.
Founded in 2016 by Yahya Aqel, Adel Haddad, and Shahed Jaber, Aumet develops an AI-first procurement operating system for health care providers and pharmacies.
The company said the funding will support AI expansion, enterprise deployments, and regional growth across the GCC and international markets. In March 2023, Aumet closed a $7 million pre-series A round from AAIC, Shorooq Partners, and other investors.
Stream secures $5.2m seed extension led by BECO Capital
Saudi Arabia-based fintech Stream has secured a $5.2 million seed extension round led by BECO Capital.
The round included participation from STV, Flourish Ventures, and Arab Bank, alongside existing investors Outliers and BYLD.
Founded in 2024 by Ibrahim Al-Dlaigan, Stream provides a billing and payments infrastructure platform for businesses across MENA.
The new round brings Stream’s total seed financing to $9.2 million, less than six months after its initial seed round.
Hakeem Health raises $1.65m led by Merak Capital
Saudi Arabia-based health tech Hakeem Health has raised $1.65 million in a funding round led by Merak Capital, with participation from Sanabil 500.
Founded in 2022 by Bilal Adi and Mohammed Ayyad, Hakeem Health operates on a Software-as-a-Service model targeting hospitals, universities, and healthcare payers across the GCC.
Its flagship platform, HakeemDx, integrates with hospital systems to deliver real-time bilingual clinical guidance to doctors.
The company said the funding will support the expansion of HakeemDx adoption across GCC healthcare systems.
Gabster raises $500k pre-seed round from RAI and T2
Saudi Arabia-based business operations platform Gabster has raised $500,000 in a pre-seed round backed by RAI and T2.
Founded in 2024 by Ibrahim Ali, Gabster is developing a unified AI-powered business management platform.
The platform integrates more than 10 communication channels, including WhatsApp, Instagram, Telegram, email, and live chat.
Gabster said the funding will support its plans to expand AI adoption and improve operational efficiency for businesses in Saudi Arabia.
Beltone Venture Capital and Citadel International exit Bosta
Egypt’s Beltone Venture Capital and the UAE’s Citadel International Holdings have exited Bosta through their joint investment fund.
The transaction generated a 75 percent internal rate of return for the fund. The deal marks the fifth successful exit for Beltone Venture Capital since its launch in 2023.
It also represents the second exit completed through the joint fund with Citadel International Holdings.
Citadel International reaffirmed its commitment to investing in Egypt’s startup ecosystem, citing the market’s fundamentals and entrepreneurial talent.
HASIF receives investment from Snoonu Startup Factory
Qatar-based accounting SaaS platform HASIF has received an undisclosed investment from Snoonu through its Startup Factory Initiative.
Founded by Noof Alhbabi, Maryam Eisa, and Dana Al-Wadaani, HASIF develops AI-powered accounting and financial compliance solutions for small and medium-sized enterprises.
HASIF is the second startup backed by Snoonu Startup Factory, following the company’s earlier investment in Sufra AI.
Lyrie.ai raises $2m pre-seed round and exits stealth
UAE-based cybersecurity startup Lyrie.ai has raised $2 million in pre-seed funding from unnamed investors and officially exited stealth mode.
Developed by OTT Cybersecurity LLC, the platform focuses on securing autonomous AI agents used across enterprise and government systems.
The company said the funding will support platform development, expansion of its security research team, and deployment of the Agent Trust Protocol.
Byit expands into the UAE with AI-powered real estate solutions
Egypt-born property tech Byit has expanded into the UAE and launched a new suite of AI-powered real estate solutions.
The move follows the company’s $1.1 million funding round, backed by A15, Beltone Holding, and angel investors in late 2025.
Founded in 2022 by Antoine Azer, Byit operates an agent-first broking model, offering freelance brokers up to 90 percent of developers’ commission.
The company established Byit Ventures in the UAE to connect Egyptian property supply with GCC-based investors. Byit said it aims to expand further across the Gulf, with Saudi Arabia identified as its next target market.
Saudi Arabia leads MENA corporate venture activity
Venture investment in the Middle East and North Africa reached $15.4 billion across 3,329 deals over the past five years, with corporate investors accounting for 12 percent of both funding value and deal volume, according to a joint report by MAGNiTT and stc group.
Saudi Arabia and the UAE dominated corporate-backed venture activity, representing 86 percent of total corporate-backed funding in the region.
The Kingdom accounted for 57 percent of corporate capital deployed, while 46 percent of active corporate investors over the period were Saudi-based, highlighting its growing role in MENA’s venture landscape.
The report said the concentration of capital in Saudi Arabia and the UAE is “self-reinforcing,” as the presence of major corporates and scaled startups sustains stronger deal flow.
It added that smaller markets, including Egypt and Jordan, may require targeted policy measures or cross-border co-investment mechanisms to attract more corporate capital.
MAGNiTT CEO Philip Bahoshy said corporate investors have played a consistent role in MENA’s venture ecosystem, including in major transactions, but “this part of the market has not had its own data framework until now.”
The report found corporate investors participated in 70 to 100 deals annually between 2021 and 2025, deploying between $200 million and $500 million each year.
