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KAUST startups surpass $1 billion investments raised

Nov 16, 2025 Press Release

Haitham Alhumsi, director of the KAUST Innovation Ecosystem, speaking at SPECTRUM 2025.

  • KAUST backed startups have raised over US$1B by co-investing alongside local and global investment firms. 
  • In 2024, KAUST-backed startups raised US$150M, signaling growth in Saudi Arabia’s high-tech ecosystem. 

The King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) startup portfolio has celebrated its best year yet in scaling Saudi Arabia’s high-tech sectors. Its startups have raised more than US$1 billion in total investment to date, generated US$925 million in revenue, and created 6,661 jobs. The portfolio itself has a total valuation of more than $2 billion.  

In 2024 alone, KAUST’s portfolio companies collectively raised $150 million, underscoring the growing investor confidence in Saudi Arabia’s innovation ecosystem. The KAUST Innovation Ventures strategy focuses on co-investments with both local and international venture capital firms, supporting global translation of KAUST’s high-impact technology. The cross-border investment in Saudi emerging business signals the growing appetite for KAUST-supported startups in global markets and enables Saudi startups to effectively scale internationally. 

Two examples of startups scaling internationally include Rimrubber, which is now offering on-demand tire sales and fitting in Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Qatar, and the UAE, as well as iStoria, which is enabling non-native speakers to learn English in Europe, Latin America, and the Middle East.  

These achievements were celebrated at SPECTRUM 2025, KAUST Innovation Ecosystem’s flagship startup and investor event in Riyadh, organized in partnership with Wa’ed Ventures, 500 Global, Antler, Impact46, and The Garage (KACST). 

SPECTRUM brings together top accelerators, global venture capital firms, and high-growth startups to drive funding, forge partnerships, and expand Saudi Arabia’s footprint in global innovation markets. The 2025 edition hosted 29 startups and 40 leading venture capital firms from around the world under the theme “Discover. Connect. Invest.” 

SPECTRUM 2025 also introduced four new international venture partners: Techstars, NewLab, First Star Ventures, and Fountech Labs, who are bringing new capital, global expertise, and partnerships to Saudi Arabia’s growing deeptech sector and working with KAUST on new startup support programs around mobility, energy, and sustainability. 

“ Crossing the US$1 billion investment threshold is more than a milestone — it is proof that Saudi deep tech is globally competitive,” said Ian Campbell, Senior Vice President of the KAUST National Transformation Institute. “Through KAUST Innovation Ventures, we are transforming world-class research into world-class companies, advancing Vision 2030 by empowering entrepreneurs, creating jobs, and attracting global investment.” 

As Saudi Arabia accelerates its Vision 2030 transformation, KAUST continues to serve as a national innovation engine, developing human capital, translating research into startups, and attracting international investors. 

Success stories in 2024 

Among the startups making great strides in 2024 were: 

  1. Edama, which secured US$5.6 million from the Saudi Investment Recycling Company (SIRC) to expand its circular economy facilities. Edama was founded in 2017 by several KAUST students who realized their research had the potential to become commercial products for organic waste recycling. Made from organic waste, its core product enhances the soil fertility of arid land to double crop yields. It does this while reducing desertification and water consumption. 

  1. Rize, which closed US$35 million to expand its “rent-now-pay-later” real estate platform. Rize is using deeptech to disrupt the real estate market in Saudi Arabia and abroad. In some nations, like Saudi Arabia, tenants are expected to pay an entire year’s rent upfront. Rize’s products enable owners to still receive the lump sum while allowing tenants to make smaller payments over time. 

  1. Flynow, which landed US$44 million to establish eCopter manufacturing in Saudi Arabia and the U.A.E. Founded by aeronautical and automotive engineers. It seeks to disrupt urban air mobility by providing affordable and sustainable air taxis. At LEAP 2025, the annual global technology conference in RIyadh that showcases disruptive technologies, Flynow laid out its vision for electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) vehicles to move cargo and people.   

  1. Intelmatix, which raised US$20 million. Intermatix is simplifying the adoption of AI by companies across all industries for better decision intelligence. Its products reduce stock wastage and expiration costs, improve response times, and generate more accurate business forecasts. One of its cofounders and KAUST graduate, Ahmad Alabdulkareem, was named an Innovator Under 35 in MENA by MIT Technology Review in 2022. 

“Our ecosystem proves that when science meets entrepreneurship, real economic transformation follows,” said Haitham Alhumsi, director of the KAUST Innovation Ecosystem. “The impact of KAUST startups goes far beyond funding: they’re building industries, jobs, and global connections that will define the next decade of Saudi innovation.”