Skip to content Skip to Search
Skip navigation

Saudi Arabia launches $200m fund to invest in tech firms

By Pramod Kumar
Saudi robotics Reuters/Ahmed Yosri
Saudi Arabia's first robot 'Sara', who can communicate in the local dialect and answer questions. The kingdom plans to strike strategic cooperation agreements in robotics
  • Fund aimed at both local and international firms
  • Looking for partnerships in aerospace, robotics and microelectronics
  • Kingdom wants to grow fintechs from 147 to 500 fintechs by 2030

Saudi Arabia has launched a $200 million (SAR750 million) fund to invest in local and global high-tech companies as part of plans to diversify and create more high-quality technical jobs.

The funding is part of the strategy that Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman unveiled for the King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, state-owned SPA news agency reported.

The initiative aims to transform research into “economically productive innovations” through public and private partnerships.

This will be bolstered by the new National Transformation Institute for Applied Research, which plans to increase innovation by accelerating technology development and restructuring research centres.

The kingdom also wants to boost international partnerships and develop cooperation frameworks with leading global academic institutions and technology pioneers.

This includes striking strategic cooperation agreements in the aerospace, robotics and microelectronics fields with academic and commercial institutes in China’s Shenzhen region.

Some of the world’s largest tech companies are already investing in the country. Microsoft plans to invest $2.1 billion in a data and cloud centre, while Oracle Corporation has committed $1.5 billion to build a new cloud region in Riyadh.

Future fintechs

Fintech is also playing a pivotal role in diversifying employment and the economy in the kingdom.

Since the launch of Fintech Saudi in April 2018 the number of fintechs has increased from 10 to 147 and more than 100,000 people have taken part in related events, training courses and internships.

By 2030 it plans to host more than 500 fintechs and offer 18,000 related jobs, with the sector contributing $3.5 billion to the economy.

This March Saudi Arabia’s Capital Market Authority and Financial Sector Development Program launched the Investment in Fintech VC fund.

Abdullah Alswaha, minister of communication and information technology, said just before the launch that the country had attracted more than $9 billion in investments.

Capital market fintech companies such as Manafa, Wethaq, Dawul and Malaa have all completed fundraising rounds, he added.

The fintech industry raised $239 million in funding in 2022, according to venture data firm Magnitt.

Latest articles

An extension of Diriyah's Bujairi Terrace, a popular nightspot, will open in November

Diriyah giga-project to open first hotel in November

Diriyah, one of Saudi Arabia’s leading giga-projects, will finally open its first hotel in November along with other attractions and sites, its CEO said this week.  “This November we’ll open another few kilometres of parks, we’ll open our first Bab Samhan hotel, we’ll open our first museum which is the Diriyah Art Futures Museum, we’ll […]

King Abdulaziz International Airport: the number of international flights increased but there were less than 27.4 million international visitors to the kingdom last year

Passenger numbers rise 26% in Saudi Arabia

Saudi Arabia said this week that its total number of air passengers rose 26 percent to 112 million in 2023. This includes a 46 percent rise in the total number of international travellers to 61 million.  The number means the kingdom’s airports are approaching full capacity, which is 116 million passengers a year, including 45 […]

Oil workers in Venezuela, a founder member of Opec. The IEA predicts slower demand growth

IEA and Opec move further apart on global oil demand

The division between the International Energy Agency and oil producers’ group Opec has deepened as the Paris-based energy watchdog once again curtailed its oil demand outlook for 2024, amid softer macro sentiment. In its monthly report, the IEA forecast on Wednesday that world fuel demand will grow by 1.1 million barrels per day (bpd) this […]

Tourists visit the tombs of the Nabatean civilisation in AlUla. Saudi Arabia's goal is for tourism to make up 10 percent of GDP by 2030

Affluent tourists around the globe on Saudi Arabia’s radar

Saudi Arabia will invest more than $800 billion in its main giga-projects by the next decade as part of a tourism expansion strategy focused on affluent tourists in China, India and Europe.  The kingdom’s tourism minister Ahmed Al-Khateeb, speaking at the Qatar Investment Forum, said: “We’re building and investing in major destinations like Neom, Red […]