Investor Profile: Merak Capital — Thesis, Cheque Size & How to Apply

Merak Capital funding is the route into one of Saudi Arabia's most active homegrown venture platforms — and to be clear, this is the Riyadh-based Merak Capital, a Capital Market Authority–licensed investment institution, not the unrelated Indian fund Merak Ventures. Merak Capital runs a multi-strategy institution from Riyadh covering venture capital, private equity, credit, real assets and special projects.

Merak Capital's thesis: Saudi-first technology investing

The firm invests where Saudi Arabia's digital transformation and regulatory programmes create durable demand: enterprise applications, fintech infrastructure, healthcare technology, industrial and field-services software, supply chain and logistics technology, cybersecurity and developer tools. It prefers models with recurring revenue, strong retention and scalable distribution, anchored in Saudi Arabia with selective MENA exposure where it strengthens a Saudi platform. Merak Technology Venture Fund I (MTVF I) finances early-stage ventures aiming for category leadership in technology, while Merak Gaming Fund (MGF) backs studios, publishers and the platform layer behind gaming, with a stated ambition of helping establish Saudi Arabia as a global hub for the industry.

For gaming founders, there is a specific on-ramp: the Exel Gaming Accelerator, the firm's proprietary pre-seed programme of structured mentorship and initial capital. The firm's site puts the venture portfolio at 30+ portfolio companies and growing, and cites SAR 75M deployed alongside public institutions and leading technology firms.

Fund size, portfolio and partners

The firm has not publicly disclosed the size of its venture funds — so treat fund size as not publicly disclosed. Its portfolio, however, is public. Tech-side names on the firm's site include Bynow, Magnitt, Qoyod, Yalla Plus, Nabt, Syaaraat, Lawazem, Converted.in, Arib and No Diet; the gaming portfolio lists Starvania, Rojeh Games, Liva Interactive, Astravalle Studio, Dreaming Door Studios and Superbullet among others. A well-documented deal is the $1.2 million investment in Bynow, the Saudi B2B fintech founded in 2022 by Rami Suliman and Ahmed Banafa, which builds buy-now-pay-later and cash-flow tooling (reported by Wamda in September 2025).

Merak Capital was launched by founding partners Abdullah Altamami, Othman Alhokail and Abdulrahman Bin Mutrib, and it was one of the first venture funds operating under the Capital Market Authority's jurisdiction (licence 18194-32). Early institutional credibility came from Jada Fund of Funds, which committed to the Merak Technology Ventures Fund in 2021 as part of its backing of emerging Saudi fund managers.

Credits, perks and founder support

Beyond capital, portfolio founders get operational guidance, go-to-market support and help optimising unit economics, plus a network including government entities and global technology leaders — useful where regulatory navigation matters. There is no publicly stated credits or perks programme from the firm itself.

How to apply for funding from Merak Capital

The firm's site does not run a public pitch application form. The stated route in is the inquiry form on its Contact page (merak.capital/contact), where entrepreneurs are invited to send an inquiry and the team says it will respond promptly. Founders with a warm introduction into the Riyadh ecosystem will find that route strongest, and gaming founders should look specifically at the Exel Gaming Accelerator track.