Wa'ed Ventures: $500 million to shape the Saudi tech economy

SAUDI ARAMCO

SAUDI ARAMCO

2222.SA

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Riyadh - Mubasher: Over the past ten years, Wa'ed Ventures, Saudi Aramco's venture capital fund, has established itself as one of the most prominent supporters of entrepreneurship and technology in the Kingdom.

Wa'ed Ventures was launched in 2013 with a $200 million fund, later raised to $500 million, of which $270 million has been invested to date in more than 75 startups, according to Aramco's account on the X platform.

Main stations
2011: Establishment of the Waed Center to support entrepreneurs.

2013: Waed Ventures launched with a $200 million budget and a $5 million investment limit.

2021: Investment limit raised to $20 million to cover late-stage funding gap.

2022: Capital raised to $500 million to focus on deep technologies.

2023: Name changed to “Wa’ed Ventures” to confirm the full transformation into a venture capital fund.

2024: $100 million allocated to early-stage AI investments.

Focus sectors
Artificial intelligence, space, robotics, drones, quantum computing, 5G technologies, 3D printing, and digital financial services (Fintech).

Most prominent investments
Pascal (France): The first quantum computer in the Kingdom.

Rebellion (Korea): AI chips for Aramco data centers.

aiXplain (USA): An AI infrastructure platform, opened an office in Riyadh.

Terra Drone (Japan): A drone company that has established a Saudi branch.

OQ Technology (Luxembourg): 5G satellite communications.

IRIS (Saudi Arabia): Saltwater agriculture and advanced greenhouse technologies, expanding to America and Europe.

ZAD (Saudi Arabia): E-commerce solutions expanding regionally.

A pivotal role in local innovation:
Wa'ed Ventures is a partner in Aramco's National Pioneers Program, in collaboration with:

Lab7: For technical product development.

Talid: To accelerate the growth of small and medium enterprises.

Namaat: Transforming companies into leading national entities.

The effect

Wa'ed Ventures has contributed to accelerating Aramco's digital transformation, strengthening the Kingdom's innovation ecosystem, localizing global companies and technologies, and transforming promising ideas into companies capable of global expansion.

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