Shaimaa Ibrahim 

As Saudi Arabia’s food technology sector continues to evolve at a rapid pace, Calo has emerged as a leading success story. The company has effectively combined innovation with nutrition, redefining the way personalized, ready-to-eat meals are delivered and consumed.

Calo was founded with a clear mission: to make healthy living simpler. By leveraging artificial intelligence and advanced supply chain systems, the company offers daily, customized meals tailored to individual needs. What started as a bold idea in the Kingdom has grown into a fast-scaling regional player, now expanding into major European markets.

The company recently secured $64 million in a significant funding round, marking a key milestone in its growth. This was followed by the acquisition of two well-known UK-based health food brands, highlighting Calo’s global ambitions. With plans to list on the Saudi stock exchange, the company is well positioned to accelerate its international expansion.

In this exclusive interview, Sharikat Mubasher speaks with Ahmed Al Rawi, Co-founder and CEO of Calo, about the company’s origin, the challenges it has faced, and its long-term vision. He also offers insights into the current state of the food tech sector in Saudi Arabia and the key opportunities shaping innovation and entrepreneurship in this dynamic industry.

Can you tell us about the inception of Calo in the Saudi market and the founding vision that has driven the company’s journey since its launch?

Calo was born out of a simple observation: people want to eat healthy and personalized meals, but most don’t have the time or energy to prepare them daily. Our founding vision was clear — to make healthy easy. We launched in Saudi Arabia because we believed the Kingdom would be an ideal environment to grow this model, given the increasing awareness around health and fitness. From day one, our focus has been on personalization powered by technology and building a vertically integrated model that delivers a world-class experience starting from Riyadh.

Following your successful $64 million funding round, how does Calo plan to deploy this capital to diversify its product portfolio and accelerate its growth trajectory?

We are humbled by the strong investor interest in our Series B extension. This capital will be deployed across three main levers:

• Product expansion: introducing new segments such as athlete-focused macro personalization, premium “Chef’s Picks,” and a healthy CPG line.
• Geographic scaling: expanding both within Saudi Arabia and internationally, including our recent entry into the UK and Oman.
• Innovation and AI: investing in personalization technology and AI-driven customer experiences to ensure that the customer remains at the heart of everything we do.

What are the key markets in which you operate, and what is the current size of Calo’s customer base? How is this customer base distributed geographically?

Calo currently operates in Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, and the UK, with a recent launch in Oman where over 10,000 customers are already on the waiting list. Across these markets, we now serve hundreds of thousands of customers, with Saudi Arabia remaining our largest market.

How many retail outlets does Calo currently operate, and what are your near-term plans for opening new locations?

We now operate over 10 retail outlets across the GCC, including hospital-based locations, and we are committed to opening new sites every quarter. Our strategy is to complement our digital subscription model with physical locations that increase accessibility, enhance brand visibility, and allow for new customer touchpoints.

Calo reported over 50% year-on-year growth in the first half of 2025. What were the primary drivers behind this impressive performance, and how do you intend to sustain this momentum for the rest of the year?

Our growth has been driven by three main factors:

1. Segment diversification — expanding our offerings to athletes, lifestyle-focused customers, and clean-eating enthusiasts.
2. Localization — appointing General Managers in each market, giving us deeper customer understanding and stronger execution.
3. Brand strength — our positioning as the go-to personalized meal subscription in the region continues to build trust and loyalty.

Looking ahead, we will continue to double down on customer experience, expand our footprint, and embed personalization even more deeply into every interaction.

You recently acquired leading UK food brands such as Fresh Fitness Food and Detox Kitchen. What strategic goals do these acquisitions aim to achieve, and how will they strengthen Calo’s presence in the UK market?

Our acquisitions of Fresh Fitness Food and Detox Kitchen were strategic moves to accelerate our UK entry. Both brands came with strong teams, supply chains, and customer trust. The integration allowed us to bring Calo’s operational excellence and technology while respecting the DNA that made these brands successful. This dual approach strengthens our presence in the UK by combining local expertise with Calo’s mission and innovation.

What role do you believe AI plays in transforming the food technology industry, and how is Calo leveraging this technology to enhance its services and improve the customer experience?

AI is redefining what personalization means in food. At Calo, we are piloting Calo Black, an AI-powered private chef experience that uses natural conversation to capture nuanced preferences and generate personalized daily menus. Beyond the customer interface, AI is embedded across our workflows — from menu optimization to supply chain efficiency — making us faster, leaner, and more customer-centric. Ultimately, AI will help us bring our mission of “making healthy easy” to life at scale.

What are Calo’s plans for further geographic expansion within Saudi Arabia and internationally? Are there any upcoming partnerships or product launches you can disclose?

In Saudi Arabia, we continue to deepen our footprint with new retail outlets and partnerships such as our collaboration with Armah Sports. Internationally, we are scaling operations in the UK, Oman, and evaluating other markets where we see strong demand. On the product side, we are preparing to launch our own line of healthy CPG products as well as expanding into on-demand delivery to meet customers across more occasions.

As Calo prepares for its public listing on the Saudi stock exchange, what are the key objectives of this move, and how will it support the company’s future growth and expansion?

Our planned IPO is an important milestone. It reflects our ambition to cement Calo as one of the Kingdom’s leading consumer-tech success stories while giving us access to capital markets to fuel further global expansion. Beyond financial growth, a public listing will deepen our transparency, governance, and ability to attract top talent as we scale globally.

How do you evaluate the current state of the food tech sector in Saudi Arabia? What major opportunities do you see, and what advice would you offer to entrepreneurs looking to enter this space?

Saudi Arabia is one of the most exciting markets globally for foodtech. Rising health awareness, strong digital adoption, and government support for innovation create immense opportunities. For entrepreneurs, my advice is simple:

• Obsess over the customer — build around real needs, not assumptions.
• Invest in local expertise — talent that understands the culture and customer is your greatest asset.
• Balance speed with sustainability — rapid growth is exciting, but thoughtful execution builds long-term success.

 Above all, never lose sight of your core mission. Expansion and innovation should strengthen your identity, not dilute it.


 

Kholoud Hussein 

Greenfield foreign direct investment (FDI) is no longer episodic, it’s compounding. In the first half of 2025 alone, investors announced 203 greenfield projects worth $9.34 billion, a 30% year-on-year jump in project count that underscores Saudi Arabia’s evolving appeal as a platform for new capacity, plants, data centers, and service hubs rather than mere capital transfers or acquisitions. Riyadh leads by a wide margin—100 projects and $2.3 billion—with Dammam (21 projects; $1.28 billion) and Jeddah (13 projects; $1.22 billion) emerging as secondary magnets in a multi-city investment map that policy planners have sought to build since Vision 2030’s launch. 

Why greenfield—and why now?

Three policy levers have altered investor behavior. First, regulatory reforms—commercial courts, a modernized civil transactions law, and faster company formation—are gradually reducing transaction friction and legal uncertainty. The Regional Headquarters (RHQ) program adds a powerful demand-side nudge: multinationals that want to win government business now need a Saudi RHQ, helping seed executive talent, procurement, and shared services in the Kingdom. As Investment Minister Khalid Al-Falih noted earlier this year, nearly 600 global firms have committed to an RHQ in Saudi Arabia, well ahead of the original 2030 target. 

Second, the Premium Residency framework—expanded in 2024–2025—simplifies long-term settlement for skilled professionals, investors, and founders, including dedicated tracks for entrepreneurs and investors. That matters in greenfield projects where expatriate leadership and specialist technicians must relocate to design, commission, and operate new assets. Applications crossed 40,000 between January 2024 and July 2025, a leading indicator of human-capital inflows tied to investment. 

Third, sectoral strategy has become more “bankable.” Industrial policy in advanced manufacturing, logistics, clean energy, and digital infrastructure is translating into investible pipelines. The Ministry of Industry and Mineral Resources reports 1,346 new industrial licenses in 2024, channeling SR50 billion ($13.3bn) of fresh commitments and bringing private investment in industrial cities to SR1.9 trillion—a base that foreign manufacturers can plug into for suppliers, utilities, and land. 

The city map: Riyadh ascendant, co-anchors emerge

Riyadh’s dominance in greenfield projects is not accidental. The capital now bundles market access, procurement proximity, and talent density. The once-quiet King Abdullah Financial District (KAFD) is filling with global names—HSBC, Accenture, Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley—turning the skyline into substance and giving CFOs and general counsels a neighborhood to recruit from. As one recent analysis put it, regulatory reforms have improved the legal framework even as investors continue to ask for greater clarity across agencies. 

But the geography is widening. Dammam channels industrial and energy logistics through the Eastern Province’s ports and suppliers, while Jeddah—with its Red Sea connectivity—pulls in logistics, tourism, and consumer projects. The distribution of project counts and capital across these cities—Riyadh 100; Dammam 21; Jeddah 13—confirms a multi-node investment story rather than a single-city bet. 

Greenfield meets startups

The most important complement to greenfield FDI is the startup engine that services, localizes, and extends foreign projects. Saudi venture activity rebounded sharply in 2025: by mid-year, the Kingdom posted a 116% YoY jump in capital deployed and a 31% rise in deal count, matching the UAE for the first time in H1 deal volume. This matters because international manufacturers and digital operators increasingly source innovation from local SaaS vendors, AI integrators, and robotics startups orbiting their plants and offices. 

Policy alignment is visible in the Entrepreneur License and the RHQ rules. The entrepreneur track allows qualified foreign founders to set up 100% foreign-owned startups—often as service providers to greenfield entrants—while the RHQ push draws corporate venture arms and innovation budgets into Riyadh. By mid-2025, 550 foreign startups had been licensed under the entrepreneur scheme—up 118% year-on-year—with 364 incubators and accelerators licensed nationwide to help scale them. A founder of a European industrial-AI firm now opening in Dammam put it succinctly at a private investor roundtable: “Our Saudi entity exists because our customers’ Saudi plants now exist”—a network effect where greenfield begets startup formation and vice versa. 

Where the projects are going

The sector distribution of H1-2025 greenfield announcements tracks three structural themes:

1) Advanced industry and clean tech. With new industrial licenses and utility corridors in place, manufacturers are building for the GCC and wider MENAT region. Chinese-Saudi ties have deepened beyond crude: from 2021 to Oct-2024, China became the top source of greenfield FDI into Saudi Arabia—$21.6 billion—mostly in clean technologies. Expect more battery materials, solar components, and grid-adjacent electronics as localization ratios rise. 

2) Digital infrastructure and AI services. RHQ mandates bring CIOs and CTOs closer to Saudi demand centers, driving data center builds, cloud points of presence, and AI integration work. The transition of KAFD from a real-estate project to a functioning financial and advisory hub puts more dealmakers and systems integrators within walking distance—important for multi-year transformation programs.

3) Logistics and tourism. Red Sea assets and the Kingdom’s burgeoning visitor economy are catalyzing warehousing, freight forwarding, and destination infrastructure. Greenfield FDI is attractive in these sub-sectors because global operators can standardize formats and import operating playbooks while training local teams to scale.

Interactions with executives reveal a pattern. One European mobility CEO whose firm is commissioning a Riyadh assembly facility noted privately that the “RHQ rule changed our cost-benefit analysis—being here is now the default”, adding that proximity to large government buyers reduced bid risk. That sentiment echoes broader coverage that the RHQ rule has become a decisive factor in competitive positioning for contracts. 

A US manufacturing executive added that talent visas and premium residency eased the relocation of commissioning engineers—“We used to rotate teams; now we can plant them”—crediting the expanded residency categories for compressing timelines. The sustained influx of premium residency applicants in 2024–2025 supports that operational angle. 

Startups as force multipliers

For foreign investors, the Saudi startup scene is a force multiplier, not a sideshow. Corporate innovation managers are now writing local checks to automate back-office functions, deploy industrial IoT, and stand up Arabic-first AI copilots. The rebound in Saudi venture funding in H1 2025 (+116% YoY) provides foreign companies with a denser supplier ecosystem for software and services, reducing vendor concentration risk and enabling pilots to scale faster. 

Policy has synchronized on the supply side too. The Entrepreneur License enables 100% foreign-owned tech startups with incubator endorsements or IP/patent credentials—critical for specialist vendors that prefer full control over code and export rights. As that cohort scales—550 foreign startups licensed by mid-2025—large greenfield investors can source more of their localization roadmaps domestically. 

Headwinds

Investors are not naïve about risks. Execution complexity on giga-projects, uneven agency coordination, and cost inflation remain top of mind. Reporting in late 2024 and 2025 highlighted delays and scope resets at mega-developments, prompting some boardrooms to stage capital in tranches tied to off-take, permitting, or infrastructure milestones. Officials have framed signature projects like NEOM as “generational investments,” signaling tolerance for long runways while trying to avoid over-promising short-term outcomes. 

At the same time, ministers have emphasized macro resilience and non-oil momentum to reassure investors during bouts of geopolitical noise or commodity volatility. In late-2024 remarks, the investment minister argued that non-oil activity has maintained a 4–5% trend since 2017, even as the IMF adjusted near-term growth forecasts due to oil market management. That narrative—stability plus reform—is part of why greenfield decisions are continuing rather than pausing. 

What to expect next 

Deal flow broadens beyond Riyadh. Riyadh will remain the anchor, but Dammam and Jeddah should capture rising shares in energy-adjacent manufacturing and logistics/tourism, respectively. The H1-2025 distribution offers a baseline for the next two years as supply chains are rerouted closer to demand and ports. 

Premium Residency and RHQ continue to clip friction. With tens of thousands of residency applications and ~600 RHQs already committed, the soft infrastructure for talent mobility and corporate governance is maturing. Each additional RHQ is effectively a funnel for supplier mandates and local procurement that greenfield operators can tap. 

Startups become embedded vendors. The 118% annual jump in licensed foreign startups and the 116% YoY leap in H1-2025 venture funding are not cosmetic. They are the early signs of a procurement market where Saudi-based SaaS, AI, and Industry 4.0 firms are preferred partners for localization and Arabic-first adaptation. Expect corporate venture capital and joint labs to proliferate inside KAFD and nearby innovation districts. 

Greenfield spreads into services. Not all greenfield is smokestacks. Banks, insurers, and professional services are standing up operating centers and shared-services hubs to serve the GCC, anchored by RHQ mandates and deepening local client rosters. The visible “re-tenanting” of KAFD is one barometer of that pivot. 

A founder’s lens

For founders—Saudi and foreign—the opportunity is unusually bidirectional. Greenfield projects create demand-side certainty for B2B startups: quality assurance, maintenance, workflow automation, Arabic NLP, ESG reporting, and workforce upskilling. The entrepreneur pathway enables foreign technologists to establish Saudi-based entities directly; accelerators and incubators—364 licensed as of mid-2025—can mitigate the risks associated with the first year by providing customer introductions and guidance on product-market fit. In turn, startups make foreign factories and service hubs more competitive regionally, helping parent companies justify additional waves of capex. 

One Riyadh-based industrial AI founder described the flywheel candidly: “We built for a single multinational plant; six months later we were in four facilities across two cities.” That is what Greenfield looks like when it works: physical assets anchoring software demand, and software compressing time-to-productivity for physical assets.

Finally, Saudi Arabia’s greenfield story is not simply about large checks; it is about institution-building that converts checks into capacity, jobs, and exportable know-how. The 203 projects in H1-2025 document momentum; the RHQ numbers document commitment; the startup licensing and venture rebound document optionality. Together, they form the scaffolding of a non-oil economy that investors and founders can model around.

Challenges remain—predictability, inter-agency clarity, and global macro headwinds—but the direction of travel is unmistakable. As one policymaker put it on stage in Riyadh late last year, the Kingdom is “resilient and investable” even as it manages near-term oil and fiscal variables. For greenfield investors and the startups that orbit them, the actionable question is no longer if Saudi Arabia fits the strategy. It’s where—Riyadh, Dammam, Jeddah—and how fast.

Ghada Ismail

Every founder dreams big. Maybe you want to build the next unicorn, shake up an entire industry, or just prove the doubters wrong. We spend endless hours chasing product-market fit, pitching investors, and running growth experiments. But here’s the uncomfortable truth: none of it matters if your startup can’t survive its first real storm.

And storms will come. That’s where crisis management—an unglamorous but vital skill—quietly decides whether a startup folds or fights through.

The Crisis You Don’t See Coming

Startups rarely die from the challenges we expect. It’s the curveballs that sting. A regulator rolls out new rules that wreck your business model. An investor pulls out right before payroll. Your product crashes just as your first big wave of users arrives. Veteran founders know this. They don’t waste energy pretending crises won’t happen. Instead, they prepare, because preparation beats panic every time.

Why Founders Don’t Talk About It

Let’s be honest: talking about crisis planning doesn’t sound positive. It feels like admitting weakness. Founders prefer to pitch bold visions, not “what if everything breaks?” scenarios. But the thing is, investors and teams don’t expect perfection; they expect adaptability. A founder who says, “Here’s what could go wrong, and here’s how we’ll handle it,” isn’t sowing doubt. They’re building trust.

Building Your Startup’s “Crisis Muscle”

You don’t have to wait for chaos to test you, but you can train for it in the following ways:

1. Scenario mapping. Write down your top “nightmare” risks. For each, note warning signs, who acts first, and what immediate moves you’d make. That’s your crisis textbook.
2. Cash contingencies. Know your minimum runway. Keep an emergency cash reserve that you can fall back on when things go wrong, like a sudden drop in sales, a lawsuit, or a supply chain problem. This safety net gives your startup breathing room to survive a crisis and plan the next move. Founders who survive downturns usually made financial discipline a habit long before.
3. Communication protocols. Don’t wing it when bad news hits. Decide now how you’ll brief your team, investors, and customers. One clear, honest message beats a dozen scattered ones.
4. Be Ready to Pivot. A crisis can reveal weaknesses in your business model. Use it as a chance to adapt, whether that means adjusting your pricing, changing suppliers, or targeting a new customer group.
5. Prepare your employees for the worst. Run “what if” rehearsals with your team and prepare them for different scenarios. What if the platform goes down for 48 hours? What if your biggest client walks? This protocol can save your company later.

Crises Can Spark Breakthroughs

Crises are tough, but they can also open new doors. In Saudi Arabia, startups like HungerStation and Jahez used the disruption of COVID-19 to adapt fast and secure their lead in the market.

The bottom line: a crisis might show you what’s broken, but it can also point you to opportunities you wouldn’t have noticed otherwise.

To Wrap Things Up…

Vision gets people excited to join your journey. Resilience keeps them there when the dream feels shaky. You don’t need to obsess over every disaster scenario, but you do need a framework for how you’ll respond when—not if—the storm comes.

Think of crisis management as founder insurance. Not the glamorous part of the job, but the part that keeps your dream alive. That’s how you build a startup that doesn’t just grow fast, but rather lasts.

Noha Gad 

The e-payments have become the backbone of modern commerce as they enable everything from online shopping and bill payments to peer-to-peer money transfers and business-to-business transactions. The adoption of e-payments has surged in recent years thanks to their convenience, speed, and security features, such as tokenization and biometric authentication. Both businesses and consumers benefit from the ability to make instant or near-instant payments anytime and anywhere with minimal friction, setting the foundation for a cashless economy. 

Voice payments emerged as one of the latest innovations in the broader e-payments ecosystem. They allow users to perform financial transactions simply by speaking commands to voice-enabled devices like smartphones, smart speakers, or virtual assistants such as Amazon Alexa, Google Assistant, and Apple Siri. 

Voice payments leverage artificial intelligence (AI), natural language processing (NLP), and voice recognition to interpret spoken instructions, authenticate users, and process payments seamlessly without the need for physical interaction with devices. By saying commands, users can enjoy a faster, more convenient, and hands-free transaction experience.

This type of payment integrates with payment gateways and banks behind the scenes to complete these transactions securely, often using voice biometrics and multi-factor authentication to ensure safety.

How do voice payments work?

To conduct financial transactions via voice, users must follow few steps:

       *Activation: users activate their voice assistant by saying a wake word or opening a voice payment app and tapping the microphone button.  

       *Instruction: the user clearly states their payment command, specifying the action, the recipient, and the amount to be paid or transferred.

       *Voice recognition and processing: The voice assistant captures the spoken command and converts it into text using voice recognition technology. NLP algorithms then interpret the intent and details of the transaction.

       *Authorization: The assistant securely communicates with the user’s linked financial accounts to authorize the transaction. 

       *Authentication: Security steps, such as voice biometrics, passcodes, or multi-factor authentication, may be required.

       *Transaction processing: Once authorized, the payment instructions are transmitted to the payment service provider, which verifies the details and transfers the funds between accounts.

       *Confirmation: The user receives confirmation via voice feedback or on-screen notification.

Although voice payments offer great convenience and innovation in the digital payment space, they also come with several significant challenges and concerns that must be addressed for widespread adoption and trust. This includes:

       *Security risks. The risk of unauthorized transactions grows, as voice commands can be accidentally or maliciously triggered on voice-enabled devices.

       *Privacy. Voice payment systems collect sensitive data, including voice recordings and biometric profiles. Thus, protecting user privacy through secure storage, encryption, and adherence to data protection regulations is critical.

       *Accuracy. Voice recognition still faces challenges regarding accuracy, especially in noisy environments or with diverse linguistic accents and speech patterns.

       *Integration and standardization. The lack of universal standards makes it difficult to integrate voice payments across different devices and platforms. 

Future outlook

The future of voice payments is promising, driven by the rapid growth and transformative innovations that are expected to reshape the way consumers and businesses make financial transactions.  The voice payments market is expected to grow significantly, driven by key trends, including advanced biometric authentication, AI-powered personalization, and the integration of blockchain technology.

With the rising popularity of voice assistants and smart devices, along with consumers’ increasing comfort with voice commands, voice payments are expected to become an integral part of daily financial activities. This shift reflects a broader trend toward more natural, seamless, and user-friendly interactions in digital commerce. 

As voice payment technology matures, it will offer unprecedented convenience, enabling users to conduct transactions with simple spoken commands anytime and anywhere. Businesses and financial institutions are poised to leverage these technologies to streamline payment processes, reduce friction, and engage consumers more effectively.

Finally, voice payments are set to become a mainstream, trusted method of payment, fundamentally changing the way society conducts financial exchanges in the upcoming years.

Kholoud Hussein 

In the evolving landscape of global entrepreneurship, a new breed of companies is taking center stage: AI-first startups. Unlike traditional businesses that adopt artificial intelligence as an enhancement or add-on, AI-first startups are built on the premise that artificial intelligence is not just a tool but the very foundation of their business models. These startups are not simply using AI to optimize; they are reimagining entire industries by placing algorithms, data, and machine learning at the core of their value proposition.

What Makes a Startup “AI-First”?

The distinction between AI-enabled and AI-first is subtle yet transformative. An AI-enabled company might apply machine learning to streamline existing processes, such as automating customer service or improving logistics. An AI-first company, however, is designed with AI as its primary engine of value creation. Its products and services would not exist without AI capabilities—whether it’s predictive healthcare platforms that detect diseases before symptoms emerge, or financial tools that automate lending decisions in real time.

This orientation requires more than just technology adoption; it demands a mindset shift. Founders of AI-first startups begin by asking, “What problem can AI solve that humans alone cannot?” From there, the business model, operational structure, and customer interactions are built around the unique strengths of artificial intelligence.

The Competitive Edge of AI-First Models

Placing AI at the center offers several advantages. First, AI-first startups benefit from exponential scalability. Algorithms learn, improve, and adapt at a speed no human team can match, making it possible to handle vast data volumes and complex decisions with minimal incremental costs.

Second, these companies often create high barriers to entry. Proprietary data sets, refined models, and constant feedback loops mean that competitors without the same AI infrastructure face difficulty catching up. Consider the healthcare AI startup that trains on millions of patient records; its predictive accuracy becomes more robust over time, creating defensible value.

Third, AI-first startups are positioned to unlock entirely new markets. In sectors like education, AI tutors can scale personalized learning experiences to millions of students simultaneously. In agriculture, machine-learning models enable precision farming that boosts yields while conserving resources. In finance, algorithm-driven startups are redefining credit scoring, wealth management, and fraud detection.

Challenges on the AI-First Journey

Yet the AI-first path is far from frictionless. Building such companies demands heavy upfront investment in data infrastructure, talent, and computational resources. Unlike conventional startups that can bootstrap with minimal technology, AI-first ventures often require specialized machine learning engineers and access to high-quality datasets—both of which are scarce and costly.

Moreover, questions around trust and transparency loom large. Customers, regulators, and investors increasingly demand explainable AI. Startups that fail to demonstrate ethical standards risk reputational damage and regulatory pushback. Data privacy and security are also paramount, as breaches or misuse can dismantle consumer confidence overnight.

Another challenge lies in the talent war. Skilled AI professionals are among the most sought-after globally, and early-stage companies must compete with tech giants that can offer far greater compensation. Startups that succeed often do so by creating mission-driven cultures that attract talent motivated by the impact they can make, rather than salary alone.

Why Investors Are Paying Attention

Despite challenges, investors are flocking to AI-first startups. The global surge of funding into generative AI is a testament to the belief that these companies will shape the next decade of innovation. For venture capitalists, the appeal lies in the asymmetry of outcomes: the potential to back companies that can dominate entirely new categories.

A McKinsey report estimates that AI could contribute up to $4.4 trillion annually to the global economy. Startups that position themselves at the frontier of this transformation stand not only to capture market share but also to dictate the rules of new industries.

The Future Belongs to the AI-First

As industries across the world digitize, the difference between surviving and thriving may come down to how deeply companies embed artificial intelligence into their DNA. AI-first startups are not waiting for incumbents to lead the way; they are rewriting the script entirely.

For founders, this represents both an opportunity and a responsibility: to leverage AI in ways that solve real-world problems, create equitable growth, and maintain trust. For investors and policymakers, the rise of AI-first startups signals a paradigm shift—one where the most valuable companies of the future may not just use AI but will exist because of it.

Noha Gad

In the heart of the Middle East, Saudi Arabia is positioning itself as a global logistics hub, supported by strong government backing, extensive infrastructure development, and ongoing reforms in laws and regulations. The National Industrial Development and Logistics Program (NIDLP) aims to enhance the performance of logistics hubs and improve local, regional, and international connectivity across trade and transport networks, leveraging the Kingdom’s strategic location as the crossroad of three continents.

Tech-powered platforms like Salasa are revolutionizing traditional logistics by integrating advanced digital tools with deep market expertise, redefining speed, transparency, and operational efficiency.

As one of the leading e-commerce fulfillment platforms in Saudi Arabia, Salasa connects businesses to a sophisticated fulfillment network, turning complex logistics into seamless customer experiences.

To explore this transformation, Sharikat Mubasher interviewed Salasa’s founders, Hasan Alhazmi and Abdulmajeed Alyemni, to learn more about the platform’s business model, innovative offerings, and its role in transforming the logistics industry in Saudi Arabia.

Alhazmi, who also serves as Salasa’s CBO, shared insights into the platform’s evolution from a 3PL delivery provider to the logistics partner of choice for over 1,000 merchants, having fulfilled and shipped more than 50 million products domestically and internationally since inception.

First, what motivated you to establish Salasa? And what are the key logistics challenges that the platform addresses? 

Salasa began as a simple 3PL company delivering e-commerce orders by car and motorcycle. When one of our clients faced challenges with picking and packing, we stepped in to handle it. That light bulb moment revealed a clear opportunity: fulfillment could be offered as a dedicated service. My partner and I left our jobs at the time to build that model from the ground up.

From those first few shipments, we have grown into a network that has fulfilled over 50 million products, built on the belief that merchants should be able to scale without being weighed down by operational complexity. Today, our high-speed dark stores and mega fulfillment centers solve the exact pain points we saw in those early days: slow delivery times, fragmented courier options, and the cost burden of running in-house logistics. We combine that infrastructure with smart technology to give merchants what they need most: speed, reliability, and the ability to grow without limits.

How did Salasa enhance its products and services to transform the e-commerce logistics industry in Saudi Arabia? 

We are focused on building an infrastructure and technology ecosystem that work seamlessly together. 

On the physical side, we expanded to 15 dark stores and three mega fulfillment centers, ensuring we can reach the majority of customers in Saudi Arabia within hours, not days. 

On the technology side, we are rolling out solutions that automate courier selection, further optimize delivery routes, detect upcoming merchant campaigns, and predict inventory needs based on demand trends.

These tools will give merchants more control and visibility. No more guesswork. Merchants can track their orders in real time, anticipate stock needs, and respond to demand spikes with confidence. Over time, this combination of speed, transparency, and flexibility will raise the bar for what merchants expect from a logistics partner in the region.

How does Salasa uphold exceptional customer experience and operational excellence as it scales? 

Operational excellence at Salasa is embedded in every process we design. Our systems are built to minimize errors, cut delivery times, and ensure clear communication at every stage, with tools like voice AI proactively confirming pickups and deliveries for seamless coordination. 

As we scale, we avoid the common drop in service quality by investing heavily in technology and monitoring, staying close to the market, and listening to our customers. By identifying gaps, addressing bottlenecks, and acting quickly on feedback, we maintain the reliability merchants depend on and the on-time delivery customers expect, every single time.

For his part, Co-founder and CEO Alyemni shared more about the company’s growth strategy and his thoughts about the future of the logistics and e-commerce landscape in Saudi Arabia and the wider region. 

You successfully raised a $30 million Series B round. What motivated investors to invest in Salasa? And how will this fresh capital support your expansion plans?

Investors were drawn to Salasa because we have proven the model at scale. Salasa is not a gamble; it is a winning bet. We have built one of the fastest fulfillment networks in the region, backed by a proprietary tech stack that is actively redefining how e-commerce logistics operates. We have shown consistent growth, high merchant retention, and an ability to expand without compromising service quality.

This new capital allows us to move faster on three fronts:

*Infrastructure – expanding our network to handle higher volumes and cover more geographies.

*Technology – accelerating the development of our tech stack, from smart courier routing to predictive inventory positioning and automated merchant workflows.

*Talent – bringing in specialized expertise to strengthen our capabilities in operations, technology, and market expansion.

The goal is simple: to scale without losing the precision and quality that define Salasa today.

What are the new markets or segments that Salasa targets as part of its growth strategy? 

We are pursuing growth in three main ways: 

First, by deepening our presence in Saudi Arabia, reaching merchants in every major city, and scaling infrastructure to handle growing order volumes.

Second, by expanding into select GCC markets where there is clear demand for tech-enabled fulfillment.

Third, by enabling cross-border trade (inbound and outbound), which allows local sellers to seamlessly reach customers in new international markets, while also enabling global brands to enter Saudi Arabia with faster, more cost-effective delivery.

Beyond geography, we are also broadening our service offering, monetizing our proprietary Order Management System (OMS), and introducing adjacent solutions like omni-channel inventory management, AI-powered product content optimization, and campaign recommendations. These expansions position Salasa to serve merchants end-to-end, whether their customers are across the city or across borders.

How do you see the logistics and e-commerce fulfillment landscape in Saudi Arabia and the broader GCC region? 

Logistics in the region is moving away from fragmented, courier-led models to integrated fulfillment. Strong economic growth and major infrastructure investments are accelerating that shift. With E-commerce trade surging, Saudi Arabia alone sees over 250 million shipments a year, and higher incomes and connectivity will push that number higher.

Merchants are also changing how they operate, focusing on building their brands and products, while leaving logistics to specialized, tech-driven partners like Salasa. This shift is raising the bar for speed, reliability, and visibility, turning logistics from a challenge into a competitive advantage.

In your opinion, what are the key trends and innovations that shape the Saudi logistics sector? And how can cloud-powered and data-driven technology transform this promising sector? 

There are three major trends shaping the sector right now. First is the rise of instant delivery. Same-day and even two-hour windows are becoming more common in urban centers. Second is the growth of cross-border e-commerce, which brings both opportunities and operational complexity. Third is the deeper integration of AI and automation into every logistics function.

Cloud-powered and data-driven systems are the enablers here. They let us unify operations that were once fragmented, including warehousing, courier management, and inventory positioning, and run them as a single, intelligent network. When you layer in AI, you can anticipate demand, route orders in the most cost- and time-efficient way, and even optimize how merchants present their products online. This is how logistics moves from being a cost center to being a driver of growth.

Kholoud Hussein 

Saudi Arabia’s startup magnetism is no longer a hypothesis; it’s measurable. In the first half of 2025, Saudi Arabia outperformed the wider MENA venture market, with startup funding up 116% year-on-year and deal activity matching that of the UAE for the first time, according to MAGNiTT’s H1 report. The financing tide is mirrored by regulatory throughput: the Ministry of Investment (MISA) issued 14,321 investment licenses in 2024—up nearly 68% year-on-year—signaling that more companies (including early-stage entrants) are choosing to plant a flag in the Kingdom. 

Perhaps the clearest indicator for founders themselves is the “Entrepreneur License”—a dedicated path for foreign startups. By mid-2025, 550 foreign startups had been licensed under this regime, a 118% jump versus mid-2024, per Monsha’at. That momentum sits alongside other founder-friendly gateways—from 100% foreign ownership in many sectors to the introduction of a Startup Visa category in 2025—lowering the friction of entry and signaling policy continuity. 

Capital as a calling card

Capital formation is a necessary condition for cross-border startup expansion, and Saudi has been deliberate in putting capital on the table. At LEAP 2025, authorities announced $14.9 billion in AI and digital deals and commitments, an umbrella under which global and regional startups can commercialize at speed. One emblematic example: U.S. AI-chip startup Groq secured a $1.5 billion commitment tied to expanding AI inference infrastructure in the Kingdom and scaling delivery from a new Dammam data center. “It’s an honor for Groq to be supporting the Kingdom’s 2030 vision,” CEO Jonathan Ross said of the partnership. 

Saudi Arabia’s broader risk capital picture is improving as well. Across MENA in H1 2025, startups raised about $2.1 billion through 334 deals—a 134% year-on-year rise—with Saudi Arabia leading the region’s funding totals, even when excluding debt. On the private-equity side, the Kingdom captured 45% of MENA’s H1 2025 PE transactions, pointing to late-stage depth that reduces exit anxiety for international founders considering relocation or market entry. 

Policy that travels well

For foreign founders, regulatory clarity matters as much as capital. Saudi’s investment regime has shifted from “if” to “how”—codifying 100% foreign ownership in many activities and streamlining licensing under MISA’s ISIC-based framework. The results show up in the pipeline: MISA’s quarterly updates highlight a brisk cadence of new permits; in Q4 2024 alone, 4,615 licenses were issued, nearly 60% more than the same quarter a year earlier. 

Two adjacent policy levers also matter for founders: premium residency and regional headquarters (RHQ). Applications for Saudi’s premium residency surpassed 40,000 between early 2024 and mid-2025, broadening the talent funnel for executives and technical leaders that foreign startups need to recruit locally. Meanwhile, the RHQ program continues to pull decision-making centers into Riyadh, with 34 additional RHQ licenses granted in Q2 2025—building a critical mass of buyers, partners, and procurement teams inside the Kingdom. 

Wide open sector doors

• AI and data infrastructure. The Groq transaction is not an outlier; it’s a signal. The Kingdom has positioned itself as an AI build-site—from hyperscale data centers to model development capacity—backed by new national champions like HUMAIN and a dense pipeline of digital infrastructure. For international AI startups, the implication is straightforward: Saudi is willing to co-invest in critical plumbing if the commercial payoff is local.

• Industrial and advanced manufacturing. Beyond software, Saudi Arabia keeps issuing industrial permits at a pace—1,346 in 2024 alone, with SR50 billion ($13.3 billion) in fresh investment—creating a market for foreign startups that sell enabling tech (vision systems, robotics, supply-chain AI, maintenance analytics) to local manufacturers. 

• Proptech and urban services. A wave of foreign proptechs is eyeing Saudi Arabia’s fast-digitizing real-estate market. UAE-born Huspy, for instance, has publicly prioritized Saudi in its expansion roadmap, citing regulatory modernization and demand for transaction-speed tools for brokers and agents. “Saudi Arabia is undergoing a major transformation in real estate… Our goal is to partner with local professionals and give them tools that help them close deals faster,” CEO Jad Antoun said, noting the company’s near-term entry plans into Riyadh. 
• Tourism and consumer platforms. With regions like Aseer receiving focused development to diversify beyond the megacity narrative, B2C and B2B2C startups in traveltech, creator-led commerce, and experience marketplaces can find “white space” beyond Tier-1 cities—valuable for foreign firms seeking first-mover brand equity. 

What foreign founders say

The confidence narrative is not just macro headlines; it’s founder-level calculus. Groq’s Ross frames Saudi as a co-builder in the AI stack, not merely a customer, emphasizing alignment with Vision 2030’s production goals rather than transactional procurement. Huspy’s Antoun points to a practical wedge: digitizing an industry that still has offline bottlenecks, using a partnership model with local professionals to localize workflows rather than impose a foreign UX. Venture investors echo this pull; as one regional funder told AGBI, Saudi Arabia is “one of the few countries in the world where you can actually see the growth,” with VC deals on track to cross $1 billion and potentially scale tenfold by 2030.

Friction points that matter

No market is turnkey, and international founders should assess Saudi Arabia’s specifics with the same rigor they would apply to the U.S., India, or the EU.

• Regulatory sequencing: While entry has eased, startups still need the right license stack (commercial registration, sectoral approvals, and—where applicable—sandbox permissions) and must align their activity with MISA’s ISIC classifications. This is navigable, but it requires a sequencing plan and local counsel. 
• Localization beyond language: Winning tends to hinge on product-market fit, not translation alone. Antoun’s comments on local agent workflows in Saudi real estate illustrate the point: foreign startups that embed local process logic (payment rails, KYC norms, fulfillment SLAs) grow faster and face less churn. 
• Talent immigration and leadership depth: New visa channels—including the Startup Visa and premium residency—reduce friction, but founders should still time senior hires around licensing milestones and RHQ decisions to avoid costly lag between strategy and presence. 
• Enterprise sales cycles: In sectors where government or large enterprises are anchor customers (such as health, education, utilities, and petrochemicals), procurement is structured, security review-heavy, and relationship-intensive. The upside is that once inside, retention can be exceptional; the downside is that proof-of-value must be unambiguous. LEAP’s deal flow shows that the door is open, but readiness is on the founder. 

The geography of opportunity

Saudi’s market is not one city: it is a set of distinct demand nodes—Riyadh for headquarters and B2B sales; Eastern Province for energy, data centers, and industrial tech; Jeddah for logistics and commerce; and fast-developing regions like Aseer for tourism, environmental tech, and outdoor economy platforms. The Dammam data center build tied to Groq underscores why East Coast proximity can be strategic for AI infrastructure and industrial IoT startups. 

RHQ policy compounds this geography. As more multinationals and unicorns set up regional headquarters in Riyadh, foreign startups get closer to procurement teams that control multi-country budgets—meaning a Saudi entry can be a GCC springboard, not a single-market detour. 

Signals in the numbers

The velocity of new company formation and licensing is widening the aperture for cross-border startups:

• Licenses: 14,321 total investment licenses in 2024; +67.7% YoY. 
• Foreign startup licenses: 550 by mid-2025; +118% YoY. 
• Industrial base: 1,346 industrial licenses in 2024; SR50B new investment; >44,000 expected new jobs. 
• Venture flow: Saudi H1 2025 startup funding +116% YoY; deal count at record H1 levels. 
• AI anchor deals: $14.9B in AI/digital commitments announced at LEAP 2025; Groq’s $1.5B Saudi commitment. 

These are not vanity metrics; they translate into contract velocity, partner density, and hiring pipelines that a seed-to-Series-B founder can actually use.

How foreign startups are entering

1) Direct incorporation with Entrepreneur License: Best for startups with product clarity and near-term revenue paths. It allows 100% ownership and straightforward compliance if your activity fits the ISIC mapping. 

2) JV or distribution through sector leaders: In sales-heavy verticals (fintech infrastructure, insuretech, defense-grade cyber, industrial AI), foreign startups often partner with a local incumbent to pass procurement gates faster while building their own entity for future scale.

3) RHQ plus operating subsidiary: For scaleups serving GCC-wide customers, anchoring leadership in Riyadh while operating tech teams in multiple cities can shorten enterprise sales cycles and centralize government engagement. The rising number of RHQ licenses signals this pattern is gaining steam.

The founder’s checklist

• Proof of local value: Be explicit about what you enable: faster approvals for banks, lower downtime in factories, shorter closing cycles for agents. Saudi customers buy outcomes, not roadmaps. (Huspy’s focus on broker productivity is illustrative.) 
• Compliance by design: Build KSA-specific workflows into the product (Arabic interfaces, e-invoicing, ZATCA rules, data residency where needed) rather than layering them as post-sale custom work.
• Talent stack: Budget early for a bilingual customer success lead and a regulatory ops specialist; they will pay for themselves by compressing the time from POC to MSA. Startup and premium residency visas expand this hiring universe. 
• Capital partnerships: Treat local funds and corporate venture arms as design partners, not just check-writers. The Groq-Aramco Digital alignment shows how strategic capital can unlock infrastructure and demand simultaneously.  

What success looks like

A sustainable Saudi play for a foreign startup usually has four features: 

(1) local problem definition (not copy-pasted from another geography

(2) embedded compliance and language support

(3) a domestic revenue base that can survive currency or geopolitical shocks elsewhere

(4) partnerships that make a Saudi presence a GCC (and eventually global) revenue engine. 

The policy regime makes this viable; the capital base makes it scalable; the customer appetite makes it repeatable.

The numbers suggest the window is open. MAGNiTT’s H1 2025 data shows Saudi’s venture engine running hotter than regional peers. MISA’s licensing pipeline continues to swell, and specialized channels—entrepreneur licensing, new visa categories, RHQ—shrink the “distance” between a foreign founder and their first Saudi purchase order. On the ground, founders are already speaking a language of execution: Groq’s Jonathan Ross emphasizes co-building, while Huspy’s Jad Antoun talks about fixing specific frictions with local partners. 

Finally, Saudi Arabia has moved from being a promising market to a working market for international startups. For founders who can anchor locally, localize deeply, and partner intelligently, the Kingdom is not just another expansion pin on the map—it’s a growth core.

Ghada Ismail

We trust AI more than we realize. It’s in our phones, suggesting what to watch, in our cars helping us navigate, and in our offices automating tasks. Soon, it will be making even bigger decisions; about healthcare, finance, and how entire cities run.

But here’s the catch: can we trust it to always be fair, safe, and responsible? That’s where AI ethics comes in.

What Exactly Is AI Ethics?

At its simplest, AI ethics is about making sure we’re using AI in ways that benefit society without causing harm. Think of it as the rulebook—or at least the compass—that keeps this powerful technology heading in the right direction.

Some of the key ideas include:

• Fairness: Making sure AI doesn’t discriminate or reinforce bias.
• Transparency: Helping people understand how decisions are made, rather than leaving it all to a “black box.”
• Privacy: Protecting personal data so it isn’t misused.
• Accountability: Being clear about who is responsible when things go wrong.
• Safety: Ensuring systems are secure, reliable, and not open to abuse.

Why It Matters Now

AI is spreading fast, and the stakes are high. A poorly designed system can deny someone a loan, overlook a qualified job candidate, or spread misinformation at scale. Without trust, the benefits of AI could be overshadowed by public fear and resistance. Getting ethics right isn’t about slowing down progress, but rather about building AI people can actually rely on.

Why This Matters for Saudi Arabia

Saudi Arabia is aiming to be one of the world’s leading AI hubs, and ethics is a key part of that journey. With the Saudi Data and AI Authority (SDAIA) leading the charge, the Kingdom is working on frameworks that balance innovation with responsibility. As AI becomes embedded in smart cities, healthcare, finance, and beyond, ensuring it is ethical and transparent will be crucial for winning trust, both locally and globally.

What’s Next

This post only scratches the surface of a big conversation. AI ethics isn’t just theory, it’s about the choices we make today that will shape how we live tomorrow. In the next article, “Building Ethical AI in Saudi Arabia: Regulation, Innovation, and Responsibility,” we’ll take a closer look at how the Kingdom is putting these principles into action, the challenges it faces, and why getting it right could define Saudi Arabia’s role in the global AI race.

Kholoud Hussein 

In the crowded and competitive world of startups, survival often depends less on how quickly a company can acquire customers and more on how effectively it can keep them. Investors, founders, and operators alike constantly ask a central question: How much is each customer really worth to the business over time? The answer lies in a single metric that has become one of the cornerstones of modern startup economics: Lifetime Value (LTV).

What is LTV? 

Lifetime Value (LTV) refers to the total revenue a company can reasonably expect from a customer throughout the duration of their relationship. In other words, it measures the economic value of each customer account, taking into consideration not just the first purchase but also repeat purchases, upgrades, cross-sells, and renewals.

The concept is particularly vital for startups, which often operate under pressure to grow quickly while managing limited capital. A strong LTV suggests that customers are sticking around and spending more, making the business more sustainable and attractive to investors.

Why Startups Can’t Afford to Ignore LTV?

For early-stage ventures, every marketing dollar counts. Startups frequently burn cash acquiring users, sometimes at unsustainable rates. Without understanding LTV, it’s easy to mistake vanity metrics (like downloads or sign-ups) for real growth.

Here’s why LTV matters so much for startups:

1. Balancing Growth with Sustainability
A startup with a high customer acquisition cost (CAC) but a low LTV is essentially losing money with every new customer. By calculating LTV, founders can determine if the business model is economically viable and if growth is truly scalable.

2. Attracting Investors
Venture capitalists and angel investors rely heavily on metrics like LTV-to-CAC ratio when evaluating startups. A strong ratio (commonly 3:1 or higher) signals that the business is not only acquiring customers efficiently but also retaining them in a way that creates long-term value.

3. Strategic Decision-Making
LTV informs everything from pricing models and marketing budgets to product development and customer service. For example, if upselling premium features largely drives a startup’s LTV, the company may focus more resources on building and marketing those features rather than chasing one-time sales.

The Role of LTV in Startup Growth Models

1. SaaS and Subscription Startups
For SaaS businesses, LTV is central to evaluating churn rates, pricing tiers, and customer retention strategies. Even a slight improvement in retention can dramatically increase LTV, making these startups significantly more valuable.

2. E-Commerce Startups
In e-commerce, LTV guides marketing spend and customer segmentation. Companies like Amazon have thrived by maximizing customer LTV through repeat purchases, loyalty programs, and personalized recommendations. Startups in this sector can adopt similar tactics on a smaller scale.

3. Fintech and Platform Startups
For fintech or marketplace startups, LTV is not just about the revenue from one customer but often includes network effects. As users stay longer and invite others, their indirect contribution to LTV increases.

Challenges in Measuring LTV

Despite its importance, calculating LTV is not without challenges:

• Unpredictable Customer Behavior: In early stages, startups lack enough historical data to make accurate projections.
• Market Shifts: Changing regulations, competitive landscapes, or consumer preferences can affect LTV forecasts.
• Over-Optimism: Many founders fall into the trap of inflating LTV assumptions when pitching to investors, which can backfire if real numbers fall short.

LTV as a Storytelling Tool

For startups, LTV is not just a metric but a narrative device that explains why the business will survive and thrive. When a founder can confidently demonstrate that their customers stick around, spend more over time, and deliver a strong return on acquisition costs, it signals durability.

In many ways, LTV is a measure of trust: the trust customers place in the startup’s product, and the trust investors place in the startup’s future.

Lifetime Value as a Compass

For startups, Lifetime Value is both a metric and a compass. It helps founders make smarter decisions, attract the right kind of capital, and scale more responsibly. More importantly, it shifts the focus from chasing endless growth at any cost to cultivating long-term relationships with customers.

In today’s hyper-competitive environment, startups that understand and optimize LTV are the ones most likely to make the leap from surviving to thriving. It’s not just about winning customers — it’s about keeping them, nurturing them, and growing with them over the lifetime of the relationship.

Noha Gad 

E-wallets have transformed the way people handle financial transactions as they provide a seamless and safe digital alternative to cash and physical cards. These wallets consolidate various payment methods, such as credit cards, debit cards, and bank accounts, into a single, user-friendly interface, offering users a convenient experience and enabling them to make purchases, transfer money, and manage finances swiftly through their smartphones or any other connected devices. This simplification of payments has significantly boosted consumer adoption worldwide, particularly in urban communities and developing economies where mobile connectivity is widespread.

The rise of e-wallets considerably contributed to reducing dependency on cash and traditional banking infrastructure, ultimately promoting financial inclusion, especially in regions with a large unbanked population. 

There are several types of e-wallets, each catering to different user needs and technological ecosystems. In this blog, we will dive deep into the five main types of e-wallets and how they meet the evolving needs of both businesses and end-users.

Types of e-wallets

Closed wallet

Closed wallets, also known as a power wallet, operate as a preloaded account used for specific products or services within a particular transaction, often linked to the issuer’s payment gateway. Businesses and organizations often issue closed wallets to their customers for making payments exclusively within their ecosystem. Users of a closed wallet can only use the stored funds to make transactions with the wallet’s issuer.

Semi-closed wallet

This type of wallet has a limited coverage area as it is accepted only within a specific network of merchants or service providers. Merchants must agree to partner with the issuer to accept payments from a semi-closed wallet.

The semi-closed wallets allow users to make transactions at various merchant outlets and enable peer-to-peer transfers; however, they cannot be used to withdraw cash or make payments outside the specified network.

Open wallet

Open wallets are offered by banks to be used for any type of transaction. Unlike closed and semi-closed wallets, this versatile digital payment tool allows users to store funds and transact across various merchants and platforms. Both sender and receiver must have the same application installed on their devices.

Open wallets offer convenience and flexibility, enabling users to make payments at any merchant accepting digital payments via that wallet.

Crypto wallet

Crypto wallets facilitate secure transactions using cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Litecoin. They store public and private keys required for initiating transactions on the blockchain network. The public key serves as an address where others can send cryptocurrency, while the private key is used to securely access and manage the stored funds.

Crypto wallets can be software-based (online or offline by using a USB stick) or hardware wallets that store the keys offline for enhanced security. Hardware wallets, also known as cold wallets, provide an extra layer of security and safety.

Internet of Things (IoT) wallets

The IoT wallets enable transactions between interconnected devices within the IoT ecosystem, allowing devices to exchange value and authenticate transactions seamlessly and securely.

This type is pivotal for various use cases, such as smart meters that facilitate automated utility payments, connected vehicles that enable in-vehicle payments, and supply chain tracking where devices interact to validate and record transactions.

Integration of emerging technologies into e-wallets

In recent years, the integration of emerging technologies, such as virtual reality (VR) and artificial intelligence (AI), has further reshaped the capabilities and user experience of e-wallets. 

AI has played a pivotal role in transforming the capabilities and user experience of e-wallets. Integrating AI tools can enhance e-wallets' security, personalization, and operational efficiency.

AI can contribute to enhancing fraud detection and prevention, providing personalized offerings, and helping users identify saving opportunities by analyzing their expenses. AI agents, virtual assistants, and chatbots are instrumental in elevating customer experience by providing 24/7 support, instantly answering queries, troubleshooting common issues, and guiding users through payment processes.

VR emerged as an innovative trend that enriches the retail and payment experience through an immersive digital environment. These technologies enable users to visualize products in virtual space and make instant purchases through their e-wallets without leaving the experience. 

VR can transform traditional e-wallet interfaces into interactive and visually rich experiences, making money management, bill payments, or fund transfers more engaging and less transactional.

Finally, e-wallets have revolutionized how consumers manage their financial transactions, offering a convenient and secure alternative to traditional cash and cards. By consolidating multiple payment methods into a single digital platform, e-wallets simplify payments and enable seamless money transfers, purchases, and financial management across diverse devices.

The integration of AI and VR into e-wallets can revolutionize social commerce and peer-to-peer payments within virtual worlds and redefine how consumers interact with e-wallets, blending convenience, security, and immersive experiences in the digital economy.

Ghada Ismail

Saudi Arabia, a nation with a historically strong savings culture but a relatively nascent public investing scene, is witnessing an undeniable shift. Propelled by the forces of Vision 2030, an overwhelmingly young and digital-native population, and a post-pandemic surge in financial literacy, automated investment platforms are breaking down the barriers to wealth management. They are offering a new generation of Saudis an accessible, affordable, and Sharia-compliant path to grow their wealth, fundamentally democratizing finance in the world’s largest oil exporter.

 Investment advice is now landing in the pockets of everyday citizens, delivered not by suited advisers, but by algorithms running on smartphones. What was once a fringe experiment in global finance has begun to carve out a place in the Kingdom’s financial landscape, marrying cutting-edge technology with a youthful, digitally fluent population. Robo-advisory is changing how Saudis imagine their financial futures: more automated, more accessible, and more aligned with local values.

What is a Robo-Advisor?

A robo-advisor is, at its core, an automated platform that provides algorithm-driven financial planning and investment management with minimal human supervision. A user answers a series of questions about their financial goals, risk tolerance, and time horizon. The algorithm then constructs and manages a diversified portfolio of exchange-traded funds (ETFs) tailored to that individual.

However, in Saudi Arabia, the algorithm must do more. It must be confined to Sharia.

The demand for Sharia-compliant investing is not a niche preference; it is a foundational requirement for the vast majority of local investors. This means the algorithms powering Saudi robo-advisors are intricately coded with specific filters. They automatically screen out companies involved in prohibited (haram) activities, such as alcohol, gambling, and conventional banking (interest-based), among others. Furthermore, they perform rigorous financial ratio analysis to ensure companies do not hold excessive debt or derive significant income from interest.

A Market Built in the Lab: Where Regulation Meets Innovation

This shift didn’t happen by accident. At the center of it is the Capital Market Authority’s FinTech Lab, a regulatory sandbox where new ideas are allowed to grow under careful watch. Here, start-ups and banks alike are testing automated portfolio-management tools with time-limited permits. The goal? To make sure investors are protected, risks are mapped, and systems are transparent before a permanent license is granted.

The approach has worked. Today, companies that once operated under experimental conditions have graduated into fully licensed capital-market institutions, cleared to advise, manage, arrange, and even hold assets. By releasing regular bulletins and tracking everything from assets under management to user demographics, the CMA ensures this growth is not just fast, but also safe.

Open Banking & Digital Adoption: Fueling the Engine

Robo-advisory thrives on data: income flows, spending habits, savings goals. Saudi Arabia’s embrace of Open Banking—first through account information sharing, then payment initiation—has created the perfect rails for these platforms to operate. With APIs powering seamless onboarding and automatic contributions, investing has become as effortless as setting up a direct debit.

This is layered on top of a society already primed for digital adoption. Mobile banking, e-wallets, and instant payments are part of everyday life. Smartphone penetration is near-universal. For a young population that already lives online, a robo-advisor isn’t a foreign tool, but a natural extension of their digital routines.

Who’s Leading the Charge?

Behind the buzz, a few names stand out as the architects of Saudi, regional, and global robo-advisory:

• Malaa Technologies: Founded in 2021, Malaa Technologies is a Saudi robo-advisory platform licensed by SAMA. It offers Sharia-compliant portfolios built from ETFs covering U.S. stocks, Saudi stocks, gold, and bonds, with investment entry starting at SAR 1,000. The platform uses algorithms to match portfolios to each investor’s risk profile, charges low fees of 0.35% only upon withdrawal, and even handles Zakat calculations. Beyond investments, Malaa also provides expense-tracking tools and plans to expand into financing services.
• SNB Capital, part of Saudi National Bank, which has built goal-based advisory services directly into customer accounts, allowing wealth to grow almost on autopilot. Back in 2023, SNB took a leading step in digital wealth management with the launch of its Idikhari robo-advisory program, designed to make investment more accessible to everyday users. The platform uses automated financial planning tools to create personalized portfolios based on an individual’s risk profile, goals, and time horizon, while keeping the process simple and Shariah-compliant. By integrating advanced algorithms with SNB’s banking ecosystem, Idikhari not only lowers barriers to entry for first-time investors but also supports the Kingdom’s Vision 2030 agenda of boosting financial literacy and expanding participation in capital markets.
• Derayah Financial, a homegrown pioneer, whose “Derayah Smart” platform offers Shariah-compliant portfolios with transparent fees and low entry barriers. Derayah Smart is one of the Kingdom’s earliest homegrown robo-advisory platforms, aimed at simplifying investment for both beginners and experienced investors. The service provides automated portfolio management by assessing clients’ financial goals and risk appetite, then allocating assets across global markets through diversified exchange-traded funds (ETFs). With a fully digital onboarding process and low entry requirements, Derayah Smart has helped broaden access to investment opportunities in Saudi Arabia, positioning itself as a key player in the country’s growing fintech-driven wealth management space.
• Founded in 2021, Drahim is a Saudi robo-advisor licensed by both SAMA and the CMA. It offers ten Sharia-compliant portfolios spanning sukuk, real estate, and Saudi and global stocks, with a minimum investment of SAR 1,000. Fees start at 0.25% annually, and investors can track all accounts and assets through the app, which also provides detailed financial reports.
• Abyan Capital is a Saudi robo-advisor also founded in 2021 and licensed by the CMA with a focus on long-term savings and retirement planning. It quickly grew to manage over SAR 500 million in its first year and offers three Sharia-compliant portfolios across stocks, real estate, and sukuk, primarily via ETFs. Investors can start with SAR 1,000, with a 1% annual management fee, and enjoy flexible deposits and withdrawals.
• Sarwa, the UAE-born fintech operating under a CMA permit, targets millennials with low-cost, diversified portfolios. Sarwa, which officially launched its robo-advisory platform in February 2018 under the Dubai Financial Services Authority’s Innovation Testing License, presented itself as the region’s first regulated automated investment advisor. The platform combines automated investing with human financial advice, offering diversified portfolios built with low-cost ETFs and tailored to individual risk profiles. With features such as zero-commission trading, fractional shares, and Shariah-compliant investment options, Sarwa has positioned itself as both accessible and innovative, attracting thousands of young professionals seeking simple, affordable ways to grow their wealth. Its cross-border presence also makes it a benchmark for how robo-advisory can scale across the wider MENA region.
• Tamra Capital, licensed by the Capital Market Authority, is a leading UAE-based robo-advisory firm by assets under management. Its platform offers Sharia-compliant ETFs and simplifies access to local and international funds, publishing AUM and subscriber data quarterly through the CMA.
• Vault Wealth, the UAE’s first digital private wealth app for high-net-worth individuals, blends robo-advisory with human expertise. It offers global portfolios of equities, bonds, and private markets, alongside a high-yield cash solution. Partnered with Interactive Brokers for custody, Vault also provides Sharia-compliant portfolios of equities and sukuk for ethical investors.
• Wahed Invest, a global halal robo-advisor already familiar to Muslim investors worldwide, is bringing faith-aligned investing into Saudi homes. The platform, widely recognized as the world’s first Shariah-compliant robo-advisor, has steadily grown its presence across key markets. Founded in 2015 and launching its service in the U.S. in 2017, Wahed secured a pivotal US$25 million funding round in June 2020—led by Saudi Aramco Entrepreneurship Ventures (Wa’ed)—to support its global expansion and establish a dedicated subsidiary in Saudi Arabia following regulatory approval from the CMA

Demand Side Momentum: Culture, Demographics, and Behavior

Several cultural and demographic forces are driving robo-advisory into the mainstream.

The fintech explosion is one. By 2023, Saudi Arabia had nine active robo-advisory platforms, and their growth has been breathtaking. Assets under management leapt 354% in a single year, from SAR 308 million to SAR 1.4 billion. Investors flocked in, nearly half a million of them by 2023, pushing regular, automated investments up by an astonishing 568%.

The youth factor is another. More than three-quarters of robo users fall between the ages of 20 and 40, with Riyadh, Makkah, and the Eastern Province leading adoption. This is a generation that’s digitally native, comfortable with risk, and eager for transparent, low-friction ways to build wealth.

Finally, the numbers suggest this is no passing fad. Statista projects Saudi robo-advisory assets to top US $4.29 billion by 2025, rising to over US $5 billion by 2029. Ken Research even forecasts a compound annual growth rate of nearly 48%, underlining the sheer velocity of adoption.

The Saudi Take on Robo-Advisory: Faith-Aligned, Goal-Oriented, and Hyper-Local

Saudi robo-advisors are not carbon copies of their Western counterparts. Two features set them apart.

First is Shariah compliance. Every portfolio is rigorously screened to exclude prohibited instruments or non-interest-bearing products, no non-compliant equities. Many platforms even publish endorsements from Shariah boards, ensuring investor trust.

Second is a goal-based approach. Rather than focusing on abstract benchmarks, platforms guide users through tangible milestones: saving for a wedding, buying a home, funding a child’s education, or planning retirement. Dashboards, auto-funding schedules, and risk alerts help keep users anchored to real-life aspirations.

Innovation on the Horizon

Looking ahead, Saudi robo-advisory is expected to branch into new directions. Artificial intelligence will drive personalization, tailoring portfolios to behavior and life stage. Hybrid models will blend algorithms with human advisors, catering to more complex needs such as estate planning. ESG and sustainability-focused portfolios are also on the horizon, meeting a growing demand for values-based investing. And with embedded finance, robo-advisors may soon be integrated into banking apps, e-wallets, or even telecom platforms like STC Pay, broadening reach even further.

Balancing Innovation with Investor Protection

Yet the path is not without hurdles. Regulators are pressing for more transparency around how algorithms work, how fees are charged, and how risks are communicated. Investor education campaigns are being rolled out to ensure that first-time users understand what they are signing up for.

Risks remain. Algorithms can be opaque, leaving users confused during market swings. Poorly designed questionnaires can misclassify risk tolerance, producing portfolios that don’t match real-life temperament. And because automation is so convenient, some investors disengage altogether, missing out on adjustments that require human judgment.

Competition adds another layer. With low switching costs, platforms must continuously innovate or risk losing clients to rivals.

Looking Toward 2030

By the end of this decade, success for Saudi robo-advisory will be measured not just in numbers, but in trust and resilience. It will be about how deeply retail investors are engaged, how well returns are delivered net of fees, and how faithfully Shariah compliance and transparency are upheld. Most of all, it will be about whether Saudi citizens continue to see these platforms not as novelties, but as reliable partners in building their financial futures.

Conclusion: A Saudi-Engineered Wealth Revolution

Robo-advisory in Saudi Arabia is more than a fintech trend; it is a deliberate instrument of national transformation. It brings together youthful demographics, Islamic investment values, regulatory foresight, and digital infrastructure into a uniquely Saudi model of wealth automation. What began as experimentation in a regulatory sandbox now stands ready to redefine how an entire nation saves, invests, and grows. The future of investing in the Kingdom is not just digital. It is algorithmic, values-driven, and unmistakably Saudi.

Shaimaa Ibrahim 

The global real estate industry is undergoing a profound digital transformation, redefining traditional methods of buying and selling property. This evolution has paved the way for property technology (PropTech) companies to become key catalysts for change—delivering innovative solutions that enhance user experience and streamline real estate transactions.

Among the standout players leading this shift is Huspy, a UAE-born company with a bold vision to revolutionize the home-buying journey through seamless, technology-driven experiences. Since its inception, Huspy has emerged as a prominent force in the Gulf region’s real estate innovation landscape, helping reshape the way people engage with the property market.

In this interview, we spoke with Jad Antoun, CEO and Co-founder of Huspy, to explore the company’s origins, its mission to digitize real estate, and the technology powering its growth. We also delve into Huspy’s expansion strategy—particularly its focus on the Saudi market—as well as its perspective on the future of PropTech in the region and the growing influence of artificial intelligence in shaping the next era of real estate.

How did Huspy’s journey in proptech begin in the UAE, and what are the company’s main markets today?

Huspy started in the UAE with a simple idea, to fix the inefficiencies in real estate transactions by building better infrastructure for mortgage brokers and real estate agents. In doing so, we also wanted to build a global technology brand from the region for the rest of the world.

Our early focus was on mortgages, helping brokers get approvals faster and serve their clients better. We then expanded into real estate to support agents and agencies. Today, our main markets are the UAE and Spain, with Saudi Arabia now becoming a major priority. We’re aim to be in over 10 cities by the end of the year and are working toward making Huspy the technology backbone of real estate professionals in all of our markets.

What are Huspy’s flagship tech solutions, and how do they differ from traditional offerings in the real estate industry?

We’ve built tools that give mortgage brokers and real estate agents a competitive edge and the ability to serve their clients better. On the mortgage side, brokers use Huspy’s platform to manage clients, access best-in-market interest rates, submit applications, and get fast approvals. On the real estate side, agents use our app to manage showings, negotiate offers, and coordinate with mortgage offers, all in one place. Traditionally, these processes are disconnected and manual. What makes Huspy different is that everything is integrated, built for professionals, and designed to help them close transactions faster, and earn industry-leading commissions.

What sets the real estate chatbot you recently launched apart from traditional advisory services, and what challenges did you encounter in its development and deployment?

Most chatbots in real estate have primarily been built to capture home buyer contact details. Ours is built to act more like a digital partner and accessible via WhatsApp, making it easy for customers to use. Huspy.Ai pulls from real-time market data and offering tailored answers based on user queries. We also made sure that the AI powered platform could handle the complexity of regulations and offer accurate responses in multiple languages, based on the latest information. 

What is Huspy’s current operational scale, what is the total value of real estate transactions it manages, and what are the company’s plans through the end of 2025?

Huspy currently facilitates over 7 billion dollars in real estate transactions annually. In the UAE, we’ve captured around 25 percent of the mortgage market, and 30 percent in Dubai alone. We’re live in multiple cities in Spain and entering Saudi Arabia very soon. By the end of 2025, we aim to operate in over 10 cities across Europe and the Middle East, while deepening our ecosystem of services for professionals.

Having recently raised 59 million dollars, how will this investment be utilized to support your expansion plans in European and Middle Eastern markets, particularly in Saudi Arabia?

The investment will help us scale both our product and our reach. In Europe, we’re focused on Spain and will expand into other high-volume real estate markets across the continent. In the Middle East, Saudi Arabia is a top priority. The funds will go toward hiring local teams, building country-specific features, and forming partnerships with local brokers and agencies. We’re also investing in our core technology to make our tools even more powerful for agents and brokers.

Saudi Arabia has been long on our horizon. We now believe that we are in a strong position to enter the market and succeed. The government’s recent updates on real estate rules is a positive sign, and we are excited to come to Riyadh very soon. 

Given the company’s plans to enter the Saudi market, how do you perceive the digitization of the Saudi real estate sector? What are your expansion plans in this market over the coming years?

Saudi Arabia is undergoing a major transformation in real estate. The government is supporting digitization, but many agents and brokers still rely on offline processes. That’s where we see opportunity to fix the fragmentation. Our goal is to partner with local professionals and give them tools that help them close deals faster and serve clients better. Over the next few years, we plan to onboard leading agencies, localize our tech stack, and establish Huspy as the preferred partner for real estate professionals in the Kingdom.

In your opinion, what are the most significant technological trends that will impact the future of real estate in Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and the Gulf region?

The biggest shift is happening in professional enablement. Instead of replacing agents or brokers, technology is giving them new capabilities. We’re seeing trends like automated mortgage approvals, smart agent workflows, and fully digital closing processes. There’s also growing interest in data-driven pricing tools and AI-powered property search. Markets like Saudi Arabia and the UAE are moving fast, and we believe the winners will be platforms that help professionals work more efficiently, not just faster.

How do you foresee the role of AI in reshaping the real estate markets in the UAE and Saudi Arabia in the coming years?

Real estate is the world’s largest asset class and the high-value nature of transactions means that humans will remain a crucial part of transactions. AI will become a behind-the-scenes engine for real estate professionals. It won’t replace the agent or broker, but it will support them in decision-making, personalization, and lead qualification. In markets like the UAE and Saudi Arabia, where customer expectations are rising and deal cycles can be complex, AI can help streamline everything from property recommendations to document verification. At Huspy, we’re using AI to improve agent workflows and make customer interactions smarter without losing the human connection.

What are the most prominent opportunities for entrepreneurs in the proptech sector?

The biggest opportunities lie in solving pain points for real estate professionals. That could be building tools for pricing, analytics, financing, or transaction management. There’s also room to innovate in underserved segments like rentals, cross-border deals, and agent training. Additionally, entrepreneurs need to think beyond real estate, and look at related areas such as property maintenance, interior design, rentals, etc. In fast-growing markets like the GCC, founders who can combine deep local knowledge with scalable tech have a real chance to build category-defining companies.