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 Bloomberg article on Silicon Valley VCs frantically looking for investment from the Middle East

Bloomberg has a very interesting article on how Silicon Valley VCs are "frantically trying to get into parties held in the region by UAE and Saudi Arabian investors, without an invite"!

Read the full article below:

Tech VCs Resort to Party Crashing in Middle East During Downturn

An Abu Dhabi sovereign wealth fund and others have deep ties to Silicon Valley.

ByBiz Carson, Lizette Chapman and Mark Bergen
May 4, 2023 at 11:30 AM GMT+3:30

Silicon Valley has taken investment from moneyed state-run funds in the Middle East for years. Now that the technology industry is mired in a downturn, those relationships are becoming more desirable, and more visible.

In elite tech circles, connections to sovereign wealth funds are suddenly in-demand. Investors including Chamath Palihapitiya and Tribe Capital's Arjun Sethi have recently been spotted passing through the region. Ben Horowitz spoke at a major Saudi conference late last year. And one person who invests in VC funds said they'd seen multiple newer venture capitalists without an invite frantically trying to get into parties held in the region by United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabian investors.

The VCs' desperation, this person said, was poorly perceived by the Mideast investors, who value long-term relationships and were shocked by the party crashers. The person asked not to be identified discussing private information.

Relationships between VCs and their backers are usually private, particularly with overseas funds that value discretion. Some of those ties were made unusually public this spring when the Saudi Arabia Public Investment Fund's venture arm, Sanabil, took the rare step of listing names of the firms it has backed on its website. The more-than-$600 billion fund disclosed ties to tech's most elite firms, including Andreessen Horowitz, Sequoia China, Founders Fund and Tiger Global. Tech news site the Information first reported some of the names.

But while Saudi Arabia has grabbed recent headlines, other players in the region have just as extensive exposure to venture capital, though they have so far been quieter about their relationships.

The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, or ADIA, has backed tech and biotech-focused venture firms for decades, including early investments in Peter Thiel's Founders Fund and Flagship Pioneering, a Massachusetts-based firm known as the investor behind Covid vaccine maker Moderna Inc. The fund also put money into Joe Lonsdale's 8VC, Josh Kushner's Thrive Capital and Andreessen Horowitz, according to multiple people familiar with the investments.

Founders Fund, Flagship Pioneering, 8VC, Thrive Capital and Andreessen Horowitz declined to comment for this story. ADIA said it could not make investment leaders available for an interview.

Meanwhile, another Abu Dhabi-based firm, Al Nawwar Investments RSC Limited, is trying to grow its existing stake in Sequoia Capital by purchasing FTX's share for $45 million, bankruptcy court filings show.

"While the spotlight has recently been on the power of the Gulf region, we've been doing this for a while," Ibrahim Ajami, head of ventures for Mubadala Capital, tweeted in April. Mubadala, a UAE-based investment fund, is known as one of the major backers of SoftBank's giant startup investment vehicle, the Vision Fund. "This is as much about liquidity as it is about picking the right partner for the long term," Ajami wrote.

Diversification away from oil is one of the main mandates for resource-rich Middle Eastern sovereign wealth funds -- a mission that's driven massive amounts of capital toward the tech industry. Gulf investors are "preparing with urgency and with efficiency for the arrival of a post-oil economy," said Chicago-based blockchain investor Paul Hsu, who is pursuing startup deals in the region. Besides putting money into in VC firms, the sovereign wealth funds also invest directly in startups and often co-invest with firms they back. ADIA's private equity department, for example, made 40 direct investments in 2021, up from 25 in 2020, its annual report stated. That included 12 co-investments in early-stage startups with VC firms it supports.

Sethi, the Tribe Capital co-founder who recently made a trip to the region, said his investors include sovereign wealth funds and multi-family offices from Saudi Arabia, Oman and the United Arab Emirates. He said that Gulf investors are mindful of how the global tech industry can aid their own economies. "They want to see Alibaba, Tencent, Baidu, etc. in their region," Sethi said, adding that interest from family offices has surged in the past few years. "They want to have companies in AI, space and infrastructure to expand into their markets."

The Gulf's richest families have also made their own venture investments. The UAE's Al Nahyan family -- the world's richest with a $300 billion fortune as calculated by the Bloomberg Billionaires Index -- has invested in startups including Rihanna's Savage X Fenty and Elon Musk's Space Exploration Technologies Corp. Prince Alwaleed bin Talal Al Saud, of Saudi Arabia's $105 billion Al Saud family fortune, was also an early backer of Musk's bid to take Twitter private.

Mideast sovereign wealth funds have long had a keen eye for investing in venture capital, said Paul Rose, a law professor at Ohio State University who studies sovereign wealth funds. But for a long time, they didn't want to disclose it. "The Gulf funds have been less transparent than other funds," Rose said. "They've kept their own counsel more than, say, the Norwegians."

The recent public listing of names on the Sanabil website was a departure from that stance, as well as a branding exercise for Saudi Arabia, Rose said. It's also a way to generate deal flow. "It kind of sends out this signal, to say, 'If you're a GP, we'll talk to you,'" he said.

There's another part to the branding: Showing off connections to Silicon Valley luminaries like Thiel, Marc Andreessen and Ben Horowitz. In one photo showcasing the connections taken a few weeks before the slaying of Jamal Khashoggi, Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman was photographed with a who's-who list of top tech investors, including Thiel, Horowitz, Andreessen, Sequoia's Michael Moritz, Kleiner Perkins' John Doerr and billionaire Greylock partner Reid Hoffman.

Although the international reaction to Khashoggi's killing in 2018 prompted many American business leaders to distance themselves from Saudi Arabia, that reticence appears to have cooled. In the fall, Horowitz took the stage at Saudi Arabia's FII conference, nicknamed "Davos in the Desert," and last month appeared again at a conference in Miami Beach to praise Saudi Arabia as a "startup country."

"Saudi has a founder," Horowitz said. "You don't call him a founder, you call him his royal highness." Horowitz also announced he'd be returning to the country -- this time with portfolio companies in tow.#


 Dubai Panthera Capital and consortium invested $22 million in Indian startup

Dubai investment firm Panthera Capital and a consortium has acquired stake in Jar, an Indian fintech firm for $22 million.

Launched in 2021 and based in Bangalore, Jar is an investment tech startup that allows users to save money by taking spare change from online transactions and investing it in digital gold automatically. (Panthera Capital Investments is a VC and PE firm based in Dubai. It is the investment subsidiary of Fujairah Holding.)

Panthera Capital Ventures is listed in the Middle East Investors Directory with the code SE15.

What we like about the deal:
The company is launched in Covid days in June 2021 serving over 9 million customers with an average of 220,000 daily transactions. More details here.

Job of the day:
Amazon is hiring a Senior Venture Capital, Business Development Manager based in Dubai See more

What we are reading:
Forbes interviews Muna AbuSulayman: From Fashion StartUp, Venture Capital, Metaverse, AI, To Philanthropy Read here.


 Qatar investors of QIA and consortium acquired stake in German software firm for $400 million

Qatar Investment Authority and a consortium has acquired stake in Celonis, a German software company, for $400 million.

Launched in 2011, Celonis provides software solutions for companies to run their business processes entirely on data and intelligence. (QIA was established in 2005. Headquartered in Doha, it was founded as a means to strengthen the country's economy. the fund predominantly invests in international markets United States, Europe and Asia-Pacific and within Qatar outside the energy sector.)

Qatar Investment Authority is listed in the Middle East Investors Directory with the code BD44.

What we like about the deal:
We like how their funding has increased in each series: Series A $27.5 million, Series B $50 million, Series C $290. More details in their press release here.

Job of the day:
London Stock Exchange Group is hiring a business development manager for Africa & Middle East based in Dubai See more


 Saudi VC firm Prosperity7 led investment of $35 million in Hong Kong firm

Prosperity7 Ventures, the growth fund of Saudi Aramco Ventures, has led a $35 million investment in Insilico Medicine, a Hong Kong-based AI-driven drug discovery company.

Based in Hong Kong with more than 200 employees, Insilico Medicine develops an AI platform for drug development to treat cancer and age-related diseases.Alex Zhavoronkov is its founder and CEO. (Prosperity7 is the diversified growth fund of Aramco Ventures, a subsidiary of Aramco, the Saudi energy and chemicals company, with $1 billion venture capital fund and a global investment strategy in all sectors)

Prosperity7 Ventures is listed in the Middle East Investors Directory with the code BJ96.


 Saudi investors of Sanabil and consortium invested $52 million in US jobs app

vy-capital-boringSaudi investors of Sanabil Investments and a consortium have invested $52 million in JobGet, a US-based marketplace for employers and job seekers.

Based in Boston, JobGet is a marketplace where employers and job seekers can instantly message each other, schedule meetings, or perform video interviews. More than 50,000 companies have used its services.

Sanabil Investments is a Saudi investment firm specializing in direct and fund of funds investments. They invest
approximately $2 billion in global private investments every year. (more details about this deal is here)

Sanabil Investments is listed in the Middle East Investors Directory with the code XB181.


 Three Middle East investors among 18 investors helping Musk Twitter buyout

3middleeast.jpgThree Middle East investors are among 18 investors that are helping Elon Musk securing a total of $7.14 billion to fund his $44 billion takeover of Twitter - according to a SEC filing just released.

Dubai Vy Capital is investing $700 million, Qatar Holding is investing $375 million. Saudi investor Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Bin Abdulaziz Alsaud (Kingdom Holding Company) is committing 34,948,975 of his Twitter Inc shares in the new company (valued at $54.20 per share).

Kingdom Holding Company is listed in the Middle East Investors Directory with the code BFD84. Vy Capital with code JL48, Qatar Holding with code LIP09


 Dubai Vy Capital and consortium invested $675 million in Elon Musk transport firm

vy-capital-boringDubai-based Vy Capital and a consortium of global investors have invested $675 million in The Boring Company, the transportation company founded by Elon Musk.

The Boring Company was founded to solve the problem of traffic by creating an underground network of tunnels. This round of $675 million, is led by Vy Capital and Sequoia Capital, with participation from Valor Equity Partners, Founders Fund, 8VC, Craft Ventures, and DFJ Growth. The financing now values The Boring Company at $5.675 billion.

Vy Capital is a Dubai investment firm based in DIFC and invests mainly in the internet and software sector. (more details about this deal is here)

Vy Capital is listed in the Middle East Investors Directory with the code JL48.

April 21, 2022 |  Filed under Vy Capital

 Dubai Exotix Advisory and consortium invested $11 million in Finland firm

Dubai investment firm Exotix Advisory and a consortium has acquired stake in ZirooPay, a Finland-based payments company series-A for $11 million.

Launched in 2014, ZirooPay is a maker of a mobile card reader that allows small businesses to accept card payments anywhere they operate. (Exotix Advisory is a Dubai-based corporate finance and M&A advisory boutique focused on emerging and developing markets. Fabrizio Ferrero and Chiamaka Ezenwa are their managing directors. More details on the deal here)

Exotix Advisory is listed in the Middle East Investors Directory with the code JP14.


 Qatar investors of QIA and consortium acquired stake in UK checkout.com for $1 billion

Qatar Investment Authority and a consortium has acquired stake in Checkout.com, a UK-based global payments processor, for 1 billion USD.

Launched in 2012, checkout.com provides payments solutions in more than 150 currencies with a team of 1,700 people across 19 offices. (QIA was established in 2005. Headquartered in Doha, it was founded as a means to strengthen the country's economy. the fund predominantly invests in international markets United States, Europe and Asia-Pacific and within Qatar outside the energy sector.)

Qatar Investment Authority is listed in the Middle East Investors Directory with the code BD44.

What we like about the deal:
This is Checkout.com series D of fundraising and they are talking about Web3 in their press release; a lot! We are witnessing a huge interest from Middle East investors in crypto and Web3.

Job of the day:
Morgan Stanley is offering an investment banking internship in Dubai. See more


 UAE investors of Cianna Capital acquired stake in US firm Graphite for $15 million

Cianna Capital, an investment firm based in UAE, and a consortium has acquired stake in Graphite, a technological platform based in the US, for $15 million.

Founded in 2019 and headquartered in San Francisco and New York, Graphite is a technology platform that assists companies on their business performance with on-demand experts, consultants, and executives with over 7,500 experts & boutique firms on-demand. (Founded in 2017 and headquartered in Abu Dhabi, Cianna Capital is a private investment firm that focuses on early-stage companies.) More details here.

Cianna Capital is listed in the Middle East Investors Directory with the code JP71.


 Dubai Tahseen and consortium invested $2 million in Latin American firm OlaClick

Dubai advisory and capital firm Tahseen Consulting and a consortium has acquired stake in OlaClick, a Peru-based for $2 million.

OlaClick is established in 2020 and is a web-based digital menu solution that helps businesses receive online orders through WhatsApp. (Established in 2012 Tahseen Consulting is a specialized advisor on strategic and organizational issues at the intersection of technology, government, and public policy. Walid Aradi and Wes Schwalje are the co-founders)

Tahseen Consulting is listed in the Middle East Investors Directory with the code JM13.


 Dubai VC firm Millennial Capital invested in US firm Blue Studios

Dubai venture capital firm Global Millennial Capital has acquired stake in Blue Studios, a US-based ed-tech venture. The amount is not disclosed but Millennial Capital had raised $3 million for its fund before.

Blue Studios Inc established in 2019 is a subscription-based digital education platform with a business model that falls at the intersection of e-commerce and ed-tech, providing on demand classes online.

(Established in 2016, and backed by Al Attiyah family office, Global Millennial Capital invests in scalable, tech enabled and consumer-centric early-stage opportunities all over the world. It is headed by Andreea Danila Dash.)

Global Millennial Capital is listed in the Middle East Investors Directory with the code JB43.


 Dubai family office Kattan and a consortium invested $3 million in UK firm Uptime

hb uptime HB Investments, Dubai Based private investment office of Kattan family, and a consortium has acquired stake in Uptime , a London-based app featuring 5-minute knowledge hacks, for $3 million.

Uptime is an app that distills knowledge from leading books, courses and documentaries in 5-minute tappable stories. Among other investors in uptime you can find Chad Hurley, co-founder of YouTube and Chris Messina, hashtag inventor and open source advocate. HB Investments has made investments in startups like Clubhouse and Fresha with Huda Kattan as its Chairwoman.

HB Investments is listed in the Middle East Investors Directory with the code CM8


 Dubai venture capital firm Sahra and a consortium invested $11 million in UK firm Qredo

Dubai venture capital fund Sahra Growth Capital and a consortium has acquired stake in Qredo, a London-based decentralized digital asset management firm, for $11 million.

Established in 2011 and headquartered in London with development offices in Sofia, Bulgaria, Qredo is a cross-chain protocol for asset managers and traders active in the digital asset markets. (Sahra Growth Capital is a Dubai-based venture fund investing in frontier technology companies with a specialization in SaaS technologies. Jamal Al-Barrack is their Managing Partner.)

Sahra Growth Capital is listed in the Middle East Investors Directory with the code CJ8.


 Saudi venture capital firm Prosperity7 invested $25 million in US firm Wasabi

Prosperity7 Ventures, the growth fund of Saudi Aramco Ventures, has led a $25 million investment in Wasabi, a Boston-based cloud storage company.

With nearly $275 million in funding to date, Wasabi has reported 3x year-over-year growth, reaching 23,000 customers worldwide and over 5,000 Channel Partners and 350 Technology Alliance Partners. (Prosperity7 is the diversified growth fund of Aramco Ventures, a subsidiary of Aramco, the Saudi energy and chemicals company, with $1 billion venture capital fund and a global investment strategy in all sectors)

Prosperity7 Ventures is listed in the Middle East Investors Directory with the code BJ96.


 Bahrain investment firm Investcorp acquired London Investis Digital

Bahrain-based global investment firm Investcorp has acquired stake in Investis Digital, the London-based digital corporate communications and marketing firm

Established in 2000, Investis Digital is based in London and with over 500 digital experts across nine global offices in the US, UK, EU and India is serving 1600 clients. (Founded in 1982, Investcorp is based in Bahrain and is a global manager of alternative investment products, for private and institutional clients.)

The amount of the deal is not disclosed, but ECI Partners which had acquired Investis back in 2014 for a reported £35 million has announced making return of 2.6x on its investment. There are also reports that Investis Digital has adjusted EBITDA of £11 million for full-year 2019.

Investcorp is listed in the Middle East Investors Directory with the code OR30.


 Dubai VC firm Millennial Capital invested in San Francisco Unifimoney

Dubai venture capital firm Global Millennial Capital has acquired stake in Unifimoney, a mobile-based investment and money management platform. The amount is not disclosed but Millennial Capital had raised $3 million for its fund before.

Established in 2019 and based in San Francisco, Unifimoney provides a digital mobile account with a checking account, credit card and investing package.

(Established in 2016, and backed by Al Attiyah family office, Global Millennial Capital invests in scalable, tech enabled and consumer-centric early-stage opportunities all over the world. It is headed by Andreea Danila Dash.)

Global Millennial Capital is listed in the Middle East Investors Directory with the code JB43.


 Dubai venture capital firm MindShift invested in US firm OtoNexus Seriec C

Dubai venture capital firm Mindshift Capital has participated in Series C fundraising of OtoNexus Medical Technologies, a US-based medical device maker. The amount is not disclosed but the firm total fundraising is now $13 million.

OtoNexus Medical is headquartered near Seattle and is a technology innovator developing an ultrasound based medical device to allow clinicians to instantly assess middle ear infections. (Mindshift Capital is based in Dubai and is focused on post-seed early-stage companies in the U.S., Europe and Middle East. It is led by Heather Henyon a venture investor with different direct and fund investments in the US, Europe and Middle East.)

Mindshift Capital is listed in the Middle East Investors Directory with the code BR15.


 Saudi venture capital firm SAEV invested $50 million in US firms Seeq

Saudi Aramco Energy Ventures, the corporate venture capital arm of Saudi Aramco and a consortium, has acquired stake in Seeq, US-based provider of software and services for industrial data, for $50 million.

Established in 2012 and based in Seattle, Seeq provides software and services that convert industrial data into information and has raised $115 million so far. (SAEV invest globally into start-up and high growth companies and has so far invested publicly in 45 companies. Based out of Dhahran, SAEV also operates through regional offices in North America and Europe)

Saudi Aramco Energy Ventures is listed in the Middle East Investors Directory with the code SINOC23 .


 Saudi venture capital firm RVC participated in $21 million investment in UK firm

rvc ukSaudi Venture Capital firm Riyadh Valley Company (RVC) and a consortium invested $21 million in UK biotechnology company Prokarium

Prokarium is headquartered in London and is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on developing microbial cancer immunotherapies. Riyadh Valley Company (RVC) is the investment arm of King Saud University in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. It has invested in several firms including GLM Company, Calltech Co, SOLEXEL, Advanced Dental Technologies, Aser Technologies and Knowledge Developers. Khalid Al-Saleh is the director appointed by RVC at Prokarium.

Riyadh Valley Company (RVC) is listed in the Middle East Investors Directory with the code SIJ54.


 Abu Dhabi venture capital Chimera invested in Dutch startup Zoi Meet

ChimeraAbu Dhabi investment firm Chimera Investments announced investment in Zoi Meet, a Dutch startup based in Rotterdam, The Netherlands.

Chimera Investments is part of Abu Dhabi's Royal Group, a conglomerate comprising over 60 entities and employing 20,000 employees. Syed Basar Shueb is Chairman, and Ahmed Mohamed Al Dehaim and Majed Fuad Mohammed Odeh are servings as their director. (Zoi Meet startup Founded in 2019 and specializes in speech recognition and AI technology. The amount is not disclosed but their pre-seed fundraising has been for $180,000.)

Chimera Investments is listed in the Middle East Investors Directory with the code SY24.


 Dubai angel investor Paul Roy firm invested $2.5 million in Los Angeles Rogue Games

Paul Roy Riva RogueDubai tech investment firm Riva Technology and Entertainment announced investment of $2.5 million in Rogue Games, a gaming company based in Los Angeles.

Riva Group, Chaired by Paul Roy, is an entertainment development firm which owns and operates a group of enterprises for providing entertainment related services like 3d printing, animation, theme parks development, visual effects and property franchising. (Rogue Games, headquartered in Los Angeles with offices in San Mateo and Seattle, has a portfolio of games, which spans mobile, console and PC, features titles including Oz: Broken Kingdom among others)

Dubai Riva Technology and Entertainment is listed in the Middle East Investors Directory with the code MK77.


 Abu Dhabi venture capital IHC invested $51 million in UK firm Oxford Nanopore

IHC OxfordUAE investors of International Holding Company announced investment of $51 million in Oxford Nanopore Technologies, a UK-based firm that specializes in DNA sequencing technology.

Abu Dhabi's IHC, listed on Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange, has operations in the UAE, Middle East, Europe, and North America through its 12 subsidiaries. The company invests in a number of sectors such as real estate, manufacturing and financial services. (Oxford Nanopore has developed and commercializes a new generation of DNA/RNA sequencing technology. The palm-sized portable MinION device, and desktop GridION and PromethION devices. Most recently, Oxford Nanopore has developed the LamPORE COVID-19 test).

IHC is listed in the Middle East Investors Directory with the code MJ97.


 Dubai investors of Amanat invested $5 million in US ed-tech firm

amanat Dubai US edtechAmanat, Dubai-based healthcare and education investment company, invests $5 million in Conscious Content Media (BEGiN), a US-based education technology company.

Amanat was established in 2014 at Dubai. Listed on the Dubai Financial Market since 2014, Amanat has a mandate to establish, acquire and incorporate companies working in the healthcare and education sectors within the GCC and beyond. (BEGiN is a US based company founded in 2018. Conscious Content Media is a family of filmmakers and artists and an education technology company that creates learning products to bring children the highest quality education).

Amanat is listed in the Middle East Investors Directory with the code JA12.


 Dubai investment firm Wamda acquired stake for $5 million in agro-fintech Turkish startup

27-1.jpgDubai venture capital firm Wamda Capital and a consortium are investing $5 million in Tarfin, an agriculture fintech startup based in Turkey.

Tarfin, an online supplier of farm input founded in February 2017 with total funding amount of $6.3 million. Tarfin as a fintech startup supplies farmers with equipment, fertilisers and seeds using its cloud based technology and algorithms. The company is funded by 6 investors and Wamda Capital and Elevator Ventures are the most recent ones.

Wamda Capital founded in 2014 and till now has made 67 investments. Wamda Capital invests in technology companies and startups across the world and currently manages a $75 million growth capital fund.

Wamda Capital is listed in the Middle East Investors Directory with the code OS32.


 Abu Dhabi investment firm Waha Capital invests $50 million in Argentina online business

waha capital ArgentinaWaha Capital, an Abu Dhabi-listed investment company, invests $50 million in Despegar, an online travel agency in Latin America.

Despegar is an online travel company in Latin America with over two decades of business experience and operating in 20 countries in the region. Waha Capital manages assets in five strategic sectors including offshore oil and gas services, aircraft leasing, financial services, healthcare and Infrastructure from 1997. In December 2019, the company had total assets of $2.5 billion under management.

Waha Capital is listed in the Middle East Investors Directory with the code OR56.


 Dubai Vy Capital and consortium acquired stake in US financial firm for $40 million

Dubai investor USADubai investors of Vy Capital and a consortium of global investors have acquired stake in Upgrade Inc, a San Francisco firm for $40 million.

Based in San Francisco, Upgrade has delivered over $3 billion in consumer credit through cards and loans since launch in 2017. Other investors in this round include Union Square Ventures, Ribbit, Silicon Valley Bank and Ventura Capital. Vy Capital is a Dubai investment firm based in DIFC and invests mainly in the internet and software sector. (more details about this deal is here)

To see a list and email addresses of investment firms similar to Vy Capital check the Middle East Investors Directory.


 Dubai TS Investment and consortium acquired stake in Korean firm for $14 million

Dubai investor KoreaDubai investors of TS Investment and a consortium of investors have acquired stake in Amyloid Solution, a South Korean firm for $ million.

Based in South Korea, Amyloid Solution is a developer of therapy intended to overcome Alzheimer by developing modifying treatments. Other investors in this round include Korea Development Bank, Yuhan Corporation and Kclavis. TS Investment is a Dubai investment firm based in Jumeirah Lake Towers, with investments in construction, trading, real estate & F&B. (more details at this translated news from Korea)

To see a list and email addresses of investment firms similar to TS Investment check the Middle East Investors Directory.


 Dubai VentureSouq and consortium acquired stake in US gaming company for $2 million

VentureSouq US GamingDubai investors of VentureSouq and a consortium of global investors have acquired stake in Rune, a US-based gaming company for $2 million.

Based in California, Rune is a voice chat and automated friend finder for players on mobile games. Established in 2013, VentureSouq is a Dubai-based investment platform for global early-stage tech businesses. Other investors in this round include Makers Fund, byFounders, E14 Fund and Paul Buchheit.

VentureSouq is listed in the Middle East Investors Directory with the code SMA74.


 Saudi Arabian firm acquired Ukrainian farming company Mriya

salic-uaSalic, Saudi Arabian agriculture investment firm, has announced acquiring a Ukrainian farming company Mriya Agro Holding.

Established in 1992, Mriya Agro Holding is one of the largest agro-industrial companies in Ukraine and cultivates approximately 165,000 hectares of land in different regions. Founded in 2009, SALIC, Saudi Agricultural and Livestock Investment Co, invests in agricultural and livestock production in countries all over the world. DubaiBeat reported back in 2015 their investment at Canadian Wheat Board for $203 million.

To see a list of investment firms from Saudi Arabia, check our Middle East Investors Directory


 Qatar investors acquired stake in US cancer treatment firm for $40 million

qia-oncoQatar investors of Qatar Investment Authority (QIA), and some other venture capital firms invested $40 million in OncoResponse, a healthcare company developing antibodies for the treatment of cancer.

Established in 2015 and based in Houston Texas, OncoResponse is leveraging the human immune system to identify fully human monoclonal antibodies that will lead to the development of therapeutics for treatment of cancer. (QIA was established in 2005. Headquartered in Doha, it was founded as a means to strengthen the country's economy. the fund predominantly invests in international markets United States, Europe and Asia-Pacific and within Qatar outside the energy sector.) More details here.

Qatar Investment Authority is listed in the Middle East Investors Directory with the code BD44.


 Saudi investors of PIF to invest $1 billion in US car maker Lucid

pif-lucidThe Public Investment Fund (PIF) an investment fund owned by Saudi Arabia, has announced commitment to invest $1 billion in Lucid, an electric car maker.

Founded in 2007, Lucid Motors is an American automotive company specializing in electric cars. It is based in Newark, California with 1300 employees. (Founded in 1971, PIF is a sovereign wealth fund owned by Saudi Arabia, founded for the purpose of investing funds on behalf of the Government of Saudi Arabia. The PIF has a portfolio made up of approximately 200 investments in the fields of telecoms, aerospace, energy, green technologies, and security. DubaiBeat previously reported their $3.5 billion investment in Uber here).

To see a list and email addresses of investment firms similar to PIF check the Middle East Investors Directory.


 Bahrain Investcorp acquired German business campus for nearly $100 million

investcorp-europe.jpgBahrain-based Investcorp has announced the purchase of KO Campus, a modern office campus in Eschborn Germany, for about $100 million.

The newly renovated KO Campus is an office campus situated in the commercial area of Eschborn Germany, part of the Frankfurt Rhein-Main urban area. KO Campus is comprised of three office buildings totaling approximately 40,000 square meters. (Investcorp is a global manager of alternative investment products, for private and institutional clients. It has offices in New York City, Bahrain, London, Riyadh, Abu Dhabi, Doha and Singapore.

Investcorp is listed in the Middle East Investors Directory with the code OR30.


 Dubai firm DP World acquires $50 million stake in Virgin Hyperloop

dubai-virginhyperloop.pngDubai firm DP World and a consortium acquired $50 million stake in the California-based transportation company Virgin Hyperloop One.

Virgin Hyperloop One is a global strategic partnership between Hyperloop One and the Virgin Group. Its aim is to create a new passenger division while developing and maintaining passenger and mixed-use cargo service. (Dubai-based company DP World develops and manages international marine and inland terminal operations, industrial parks and economic zones with a portfolio of 78 operating marine and inland terminals.). More details here.

To see a list of investors similar to DP World, check the Middle East Investors Directory.


 Saudi family offices announced investing in cryptocurrency firm Vertex ICO

vertex-saudi.pngA group of Saudi investors announced investing in Vertex ICO, a blockchain start-up.

Vertex is creating a market and a token that combines trading, venture capital experience, and fair-value based tokenization. Vertex also offers an aftermarket for ICOs, which will provide investors with opportunities to get returns and bring more fiat resources into cryptocurrency markets. (Among investors in the Vertex ICO you can find arab investors like Naif Al Rajhi, Abdullah Al Othaim, Bander Al Rajhi and Abdulaziz Bin Sultan). More details here.

To see a list of angel investors from Saudi Arabia similar to Abdullah Al Othaim, check the Middle East Investors Directory.





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