Startup funding in Saudi Arabia

SAR 100,000 development funding, earmarked rather than paid as cash.

Equity via SAFE, capped at 5%

$180,000 via SAFE for 11% equity, plus up to $320,000 uncapped follow-on.

Equity — about 11% via SAFE

Access to 7 CODE labs and a 20-partner innovation network.

No equity — accelerator programme

General track (3 months) or Advanced track (6 months, invitation-only).

No equity — corporate accelerator

Targeted investment.

No equity — targeted investment

$80,000–$100,000 invested in every startup over a 4-month batch.

Equity

Up to $140K: $40K base grant plus up to $100K follow-on for top teams.

No equity — grant

Incubator, accelerator and Bridge programmes with free workspace; no funding figure published.

Not published — workspace and facilities free of charge

$100,000+ investment, minus a $35,000 programme fee, over a 12-week Riyadh programme.

Equity — direct stake taken

Support programme for environment, agriculture and water startups.

No equity — service or permission

Direct funding of up to SAR 375,000 plus soft landing and technical enablement.

Equity

Seed funding through an accelerator programme.

Equity — direct stake taken

Sector accelerator with mentorship and co-working.

Equity

Impact incubation programme.

No equity — service or permission

Lab access and R&D support to scale into Saudi Arabia; no funding provided.

No equity — in-kind support only

Funding for gaming studios.

Equity — performance-based terms

Access to a $160M AI investment vehicle.

Equity

Seed funding and grants plus investor access.

Equity

SAR 360M first close, deploying growth capital to mid-market companies.

Equity

Equity investment at seed and early growth stage.

Equity

VC ticket not published.

Equity or debt

Equity investment of $100K–$700K, up to $500K at seed and up to $2M at early stage.

Equity

Equity investment, seed to Series A.

Equity

Equity investment from pre-seed to seed.

Equity

Early-stage impact investment.

Equity

Equity investment from pre-seed to Series A.

Equity

Investment from a portfolio of 50+ active deals across 10+ sectors.

Equity

Equity investment from pre-seed to Series A, selective from Series B.

Equity

Equity investment from seed to Series A.

Equity

Equity investment pre-seed to Series A.

Equity

Equity investment from Pre-Seed to Series B.

Equity

Equity investment from seed to Series B out of SAR 1B committed capital.

Equity

Equity or convertible-note investment, pre-seed to Series A.

Equity or convertible note

Backs university-linked startups.

Equity — via VC/PE fund

Venture studio and VC backing.

Equity

Equity from a $27M sharia-compliant fund (2019 vintage, likely fully deployed).

Equity

Equity from a SAR 500M Fund III (plus a SAR 150M gaming fund).

Equity — direct stake taken

Equity investment pre-seed to Series A.

Equity — direct stake taken

Up to $150K cash plus $150K in-kind (Exel programme), from a 3B+ AUM manager.

Equity

Equity investment.

Equity

Early-stage equity investment.

Equity — direct stake taken

Growth capital and secondary-share purchases; fund size undisclosed.

Equity — primary and secondary stakes

Seed and pre-Series A equity.

Equity — direct stake taken

Venture capital from a SAR 450MM close-ended fund, seed through Series B.

Equity

University-backed equity investment plus access to KSU research infrastructure.

Equity

Equity investment.

Equity

Equity investment from pre-seed to Series A, B2B focus.

Equity

Equity across venture, growth and small buyouts; accelerator route via 500 Global Saudi.

Equity

Equity investment from pre-seed to Series A.

Equity

Equity from a $100M AI fund, plus NICE non-dilutive funding.

Equity

Equity investment from an accelerator-backed fund.

Equity

Equity from SAR 750M / $200M committed capital, growth and (since ITHCA) early stage.

Equity

Up to SAR 500,000 non-repayable per project, capped at 20 projects total.

No equity — grant

Innovation grants of up to SAR 4 million per project (Saudi Innovation Grants Program).

No equity — ownership retained

Zero-equity grants up to SAR 1M through the Challenge for Change programme.

No equity — grant

Non-dilutive grants and debt from a SAR 2.5B programme; LendTech loans up to SAR 8.5M.

No equity — grant

Regulatory permission to test products live; no funding provided.

No equity — service or permission

R&D grants plus equity investment.

Equity or convertible note

Access to CODE programmes and national financing.

Investor registration, RHQ programme access and Startup Saudi services.

No equity — service or permission

Residency for founders with a round of SAR 400K+ (20% share) or SAR 15M+ (10% share).

No equity — one-time fee SAR 4,000

OECD-compliant tax treatment, expat-levy exemption and electricity at $0.05/kWh.

No equity — service or permission

Programme support, plus a debt route via the ADF.

Loan guarantees and programme support for SMEs.

Not a direct-application fund — invests in funds rather than startups.

Indirect — invests in funds, not startups

Regulatory permission to test fintech and insurtech products.

No equity — service or permission

Access to a $160M AI fund with $40K per GAIA cohort startup.

Clinical testing access and MoH regulator connections.

No equity — service or permission

Angel investment.

Equity

Angel rounds brokered through the platform.

Equity

Angel investment.

Equity

Angel tickets with SVC co-investment up to 1:1, SAR 100K–7.5M per round.

Equity

Angel investment of $10K–$100K per investor.

Equity

Angel equity investment.

Equity — angel stake

Angel equity investment.

Equity — angel stake

Seed and early-stage equity tickets.

Equity

Corporate innovation collaboration with Aramco.

Equity

Equity investment from $7.5B committed capital.

Equity — direct stake taken

Internal venture-building only; no external funding route for founders.

No equity — internal only

No published startup programme; the company invests via its own deals.

Equity

Growth-stage equity and M&A tickets.

Equity — direct stake taken

Equity investment from a $3B fund.

Equity — direct stake taken

Equity investment plus hands-on operational support.

Equity

Corporate equity investment via stc Group.

Equity

Equity cheques up to $20M from a $500M fund, seed to growth stage.

Equity — direct stake taken

Investment, co-building or a three-month accelerator out of a $26.6M fund.

Equity

Direct investment, private equity, private credit and an early-stage line.

Equity

Loans of SAR 50,000–500,000, repayment up to 9 years, grace period up to 12 months.

No equity — 9% administrative fee, 2% annual service fee

Bank loan guarantee of 80% standard, up to 90–95% in target sectors.

No equity — loan guarantee

Commits capital to VC funds; founders reach it through the 47 funds it backs.

Indirect — invests in funds, not startups

Commits up to 65% of fund capital to VC managers; also runs a Direct Investments arm.

Indirect — invests in funds, not startups

Subsidised cloud and cybersecurity services for early-stage fintechs.

No equity — subsidised services

Raised $135M pre-IPO from Sanabil and FJ Labs; not a funder of other startups.

Not applicable — not a startup funder