KAUST Surpasses the $1 Billion Milestone in Startup Investments
The King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) has marked a historic milestone as its startup portfolio surpassed $1 billion in total investments raised, making 2024 its strongest year yet in accelerating Saudi Arabia’s high-tech innovation landscape. KAUST-backed startups have collectively generated $925 million in revenue, created 6,661 jobs, and contributed to building a portfolio now valued at over $2 billion.
In 2024 alone, KAUST-backed startups secured $150 million, reflecting a surge in investor confidence in Saudi Arabia’s rapidly evolving innovation ecosystem. Through its KAUST Innovation Ventures strategy, the university continues to advance high-impact technologies by co-investing alongside leading local and global venture capital firms, strengthening the international scalability of Saudi-built deep technologies.
These achievements were celebrated at SPECTRUM 2025, KAUST’s flagship startup and investor event held in Riyadh in partnership with Wa’ed Ventures, 500 Global, Antler, Impact46, and The Garage (KACST). This year’s edition welcomed 29 high-growth startups and 40 global venture capital firms under the theme “Discover. Connect. Invest.”, reinforcing Saudi Arabia’s expanding footprint in global technology markets.
SPECTRUM 2025 also introduced four new international venture partners — Techstars, NewLab, First Star Ventures, and Fountech Labs. These partners bring new capital, global expertise, and strategic collaborations aimed at strengthening Saudi Arabia’s deeptech sector, with upcoming programs focused on mobility, energy, and sustainability.
“Crossing the $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.”
Several KAUST-backed startups achieved remarkable progress in 2024:
- Edama secured $5.6 million to expand its circular-economy facilities, developing organic-waste-based solutions that enrich soil fertility and help combat desertification.
- Rize closed $35 million to scale its “rent-now-pay-later” real-estate platform, disrupting property financing models in Saudi Arabia and beyond.
- Flynow raised $44 million to establish eCopter manufacturing in Saudi Arabia and the UAE, presenting its vision for next-generation eVTOL air mobility at LEAP 2025.
- Intelmatix secured $20 million to advance AI-driven decision intelligence across industries, with cofounder and KAUST graduate Ahmad Alabdulkareem previously named an MIT Innovator Under 35.
KAUST-supported companies also continued expanding globally:
- Rimrubber now operates across Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Qatar, and the UAE.
- iStoria enables English-learning for non-native speakers across Europe, Latin America, and the Middle East.
As Saudi Arabia accelerates its Vision 2030 transformation, KAUST remains a national powerhouse for innovation — nurturing talent, translating research into impactful startups, and attracting international investors to the Kingdom’s fast-growing tech economy.
