Saudi Arabia’s venture capital market reached $860 million in funding across 114 deals in the first half of 2025, marking a 116% year-on-year increase in deployed capital and a 31% rise in deal volume. According to a report released by the venture data platform MAGNiTT, sponsored by Saudi Venture Capital (SVC), the Kingdom accounted for 56% of all VC capital raised in MENA and 37% of the region’s total deal count, extending its lead as the top destination for venture funding in the Middle East.
The surge was driven by a combination of large-scale transactions and a growing base of early-stage investments. Mega deals, defined as rounds exceeding $100 million, increased by 215% year-on-year and included Ninja’s $250 million raise in the e-commerce sector and Tabby’s $160 million round in fintech. These two deals alone accounted for nearly half of the Kingdom’s total VC funding in the period.
Even without these outsized rounds, Saudi Arabia saw a 67% increase in non-mega deal funding, underscoring broader momentum across the ecosystem. Sectors such as fintech, enterprise software, edtech, and sustainability all posted double- and triple-digit growth in funding and deal volume. Fintech led the market with 30 transactions, tripling its deal count from the first half of 2024.
Top sectors
E-commerce and retail attracted the most capital at $306 million, while fintech drew $273 million. Edtech saw a 510% year-on-year jump in funding, led by Ula.me’s $28 million round. Enterprise software raised $38 million, and sustainability moved into the top five sectors by funding for the first time, with PetroApp securing a $50 million round.
The data also points to growing maturity in the venture landscape. The share of funding concentrated in the top five deals dropped from 66% in H1 2024 to 60% in H1 2025. Early-stage deals continued to dominate, accounting for 89% of all transactions—above the regional average and higher than in the UAE and Egypt. Series A deals made up just 6% of transactions in the Kingdom, while Series B accounted for 4%.
Investment activity
M&A activity increased to seven deals, up from two in the same period last year. Five of these were led by Saudi-based acquirers, reflecting growing domestic capacity for startup consolidation. The average time to exit varied between one and seven years, with half of the acquired companies less than four years old.
Investor activity also broadened. A total of 117 unique investors participated in Saudi deals during the period, a 54% increase year-on-year. International participation rose to 36% of total investors, with US-based firms making a significant return. Their share rose from 11% in 2024 to 18% in H1 2025, regaining second place among investor nationalities. Meanwhile, the share of investors based in Saudi Arabia declined slightly, from 47% to 41%, and the share of investors based in the UAE dropped to 12%.
Several ecosystem-building efforts underpinned the momentum. Government-led initiatives, such as the Fuel Initiative, Boost Initiative, and FundSwift, continued to support early-stage activity through direct investment, bridge capital, and derisking instruments. Large-scale events, such as LEAP 2025, the Financial Sector Conference, and the Digital Transformation Summit, also contributed to deal visibility and enhanced founder-investor interaction.
The broader macro environment also provided tailwinds. Saudi Arabia’s continued economic diversification under Vision 2030, coupled with a rebound in regional capital markets and easing global interest rates, created favourable conditions for both local and international investors to deploy capital.
With several high-profile IPOs completed in 2024 and more anticipated in 2025, exit options are expanding. This supports a growing pool of later-stage companies preparing to scale or list publicly, offering more complete life-cycle funding opportunities for investors.
If current trends persist, Saudi Arabia is on pace to surpass the $1 billion mark in annual VC funding for the first time. The country’s goal of reaching $10 billion annually by 2030 would put it on par with established global ecosystems, anchored by local capital, founder pipelines, and cross-border investor flows.
