Investor Profile: Wa'ed Ventures — Thesis, Cheque Size & How to Apply

Wa'ed Ventures funding flows from one of the largest institutional venture funds in Saudi Arabia. Based in Dhahran, the firm is the venture capital arm of the Saudi Aramco Entrepreneurship Center (Wa'ed), and it invests in high-growth technology startups with a mandate to diversify the Kingdom's economy. If you are researching how to get funding from Wa'ed Ventures, this profile covers its thesis, sectors and stages, fund size, verified portfolio companies, programmes, and how founders can approach it.

Wa'ed Ventures: thesis, sectors and fund size

The firm manages a $500 million venture capital fund wholly owned by Aramco. Established in 2013 — two years after Saudi Aramco founded the Wa'ed entrepreneurship centre in 2011 — it reported a portfolio of 90+ startups in its 2026 press boilerplate. It backs early-stage companies, mainly seed through Series B, focusing on Saudi-based ventures and international companies whose technology can be localised in the Kingdom. Its website organises the focus into four themes: Manufacturing, Sustainability, Digitalization and Social Innovation. Artificial intelligence is the flagship bet: in October 2024 the firm earmarked $100 million for AI startups, covering applications and infrastructure, and formed an AI advisory board with leaders from institutions including Meta, Amazon, MIT and Oxford to guide deal sourcing.

Notable portfolio companies

Every name here comes from the firm's own site or its published announcements. The waed.net homepage spotlights South Korean AI chipmaker Rebellions (a $15 million Series B extension round in July 2024), visual-intelligence company Alteia, sustainable-agriculture firm Red Sea Farms, Saudi SME crowdfunding platform Manafa — which has channelled SAR1.5 billion to more than 180 SMEs — and carbon-neutral housing startup Mighty Buildings. In deals, the firm has led headline rounds: it led Rewaa's $27 million Series A, the largest SaaS Series A in MENA, and in September 2026 it co-led the $13 million Series B equity round of BRKZ, the Saudi construction-procurement platform, alongside 500 Global. Other disclosed AI investments include Resemble AI, UK infrastructure firm Ori, and California's AiXplain.

Programmes and initiatives

Beyond equity, the firm pairs its AI capital with an advisory board and a mandate to localise global AI talent in the Kingdom. The wider Wa'ed centre has run entrepreneurship roadshows across Saudi cities offering seed grants — up to SR75,000 for top winners in the 2021 campaign — alongside venture capital and non-collateral lending, with up to SR100 million earmarked for loans and venture investments during that campaign, plus incubation, coaching and mentoring. No startup credits, cloud perks or published accelerator terms are disclosed on the firm's site.

How to apply for funding

To state it plainly: Wa'ed Ventures does not publish a public application form or open online pitch portal — the version of waed.net reviewed for this profile lists no stated application route. Historically, founders entered the pipeline through the Wa'ed roadshow portal and direct outreach to the team. The honest path is to contact the firm through its official site's channels or a warm introduction, with a pitch anchored in the Kingdom's economic-diversification priorities the fund is mandated to serve.