Gate Capital Newsletter | Issue 715

Impact46, one of Saudi Arabia’s most active technology investors, has announced its largest investment to date, committing more than 200 million riyals ($53 million) to back Kammelna, the Saudi gaming studio best known for digitising the Kingdom’s iconic card game Baloot.

Founded in Dammam, Kammelna has become the leading digital platform for Baloot, achieving over 6 million downloads and attracting more than 1 million monthly active users. The studio employs over 40 professionals across engineering, product, and art, making it the largest independent gaming employer in Saudi Arabia.

Dubai-based proptech Holo has secured a $22 million Series A led by Saudi Arabia’s Impact46, according to a press release. The fundraising transaction witnessed the participation of Mubadala, Rua Growth Fund, anb seed, and MoreThan Capital, alongside returning investors Salica Oryx Fund, and Dubai Future District Fund. Holo will use the new capital to accelerate its expansion in Saudi Arabia and across the GCC, scale its product and engineering teams, and foster partnerships to meet the region’s rising demand for digital homeownership services.

Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund boosted its US equity holdings to about $23.8 billion by the second quarter of 2025, up from roughly $20.6 billion a year earlier.

The sovereign wealth fund exited stakes in Meta Platforms, PayPal, Alibaba, Shopify, and other e-commerce and social-media names, while boosting holdings in electric-vehicle maker Lucid Group by nearly 400 million shares and more than doubling its stake in chip designer Arm Holdings.

Seven months into 2025, Middle East and North Africa (MENA) startup funding has already surpassed the full-year total for 2024. The combination of some blockbuster rounds that produced two unicorns in one month, joined by surprise breakouts from unlikely countries.

Maaden Bauxite and Alumina Company (MBAC), a subsidiary of Saudi Arabian Mining Company (Maaden), one of the world’s fastest-growing mining companies, has signed a power purchase agreement (PPA) with Emerge, a joint venture between Masdar, a global clean energy leader, and EDF power solutions, a leader in low-carbon innovative solutions.

Under this deal, Emerge will develop a solar power project to supply the Al Baitha Bauxite Mine with clean, renewable energy for the next 30 years.

Maalexi, a next-generation B2B food and agri platform, has today announced that it has secured a shariah-compliant credit facility of up to $20 million from Amwal Capital Partners (ACP), a leading independent firm specialising in alternative investments across the MENA region.

The strategic agreement will start with a US$ 5 million tranche of capital that will enable Maalexi to scale its operations and advance its mission to strengthen food security across the UAE and Saudi Arabia.

CICC Capital, the private equity investment platform of China International Capital Corporation Limited, has teamed up with BlueFive Capital, a global investment platform originating out of the GCC, to collaborate on the establishment of a fund targeting Chinese companies in the new economy sector, focusing on expanding their business activities in the GCC markets.

The fund will focus on new economy investments, encompassing industries such as technology, digital transformation, green energy, advanced manufacturing, and consumer-driven sectors reshaping global markets, leveraging the GCC as a gateway for Chinese businesses to access local markets and also as a launch pad for their commercial and manufacturing initiatives to other parts of the world, within the regulatory framework applicable to CICC Capita, said a statement.

Abu Dhabi National Energy Company (TAQA), one of the largest listed integrated utilities in Europe, the Middle East and Africa, has signed an agreement to acquire a 100% interest in GS Inima, a global leader in water treatment and water desalination, from GS Engineering & Construction. The transaction, valued at approximately $1.2 billion, will bring GS Inima fully into TAQA’s ownership.

Osoul & Bakheet Investment Co. announced, on Aug. 25, the signing of a waiver agreement by Samia Yahya Abdullah Al-Yahya and Abdulrahman Yahya Abdullah Al-Yahya, relinquishing all preferential terms terms (special conditions) granted to them under the agreement for the company’s acquisition of a 51% stake in Advanced Operations Technology Co. (AOT).

Shatirah House Restaurant Co. (Burgerizzr) signed an agreement to acquire a 60% stake in Coffee Bean Trading Co. (SHOVEL), according to a Tadawul statement. Coffee Bean Trading owns the “SHOVEL” brand, specializing in the café sector. It operates seven branches and seeks to grow and build a strong brand in the industry.

Cointel, an AI-native platform for crypto education, intelligence, and real-time trading support, has raised $7.4 million in a strategic funding round led by Avalanche, the high-performance U.S.-based Layer 1 blockchain known for real-world utility; Sugafam Inc., one of Japan’s most trusted Web3 innovation firms; and other prestigious top investors.

Zetta, a Saudi company specialising in device solutions (DaaS), announced the successful closing of its latest $12 million investment round, led by Core Vision Investment and Ab’ad Al-Watan Investment. The strategic funding will accelerate Zetta’s expansion and strengthen its presence in the Kingdom’s fast-evolving technology market.

Agility Public Warehousing Company has confirmed that its wholly owned subsidiary, Menzies Aviation, has completed the acquisition of 100 per cent of US-based G2 Secure Staff for an enterprise value of $305m.

Bosch Group, a leading global supplier of technology and services, has formalised the acquisition of the residential and light commercial HVAC (heating, ventilation and air conditioning) business from Johnson Controls, including its stake in the Johnson Controls-Hitachi joint venture, in a move to strengthen its energy and building technology portfolio.

Following the deal, the largest acquisition in the company’s history, Bosch Group said its Home Comfort division has almost doubled in size to over 25,000 associates across the globe and more than €8 billion in sales.

Bosch is thus significantly expanding its presence, especially in America and Asia, and becoming one of the largest suppliers in the market for heating, ventilation, and cooling of residential and small commercial buildings worldwide.

Abu Dhabi alternative investment manager Lunate is acquiring a minority stake in hedge fund Brevan Howard, the two companies said on Tuesday, the latest high-profile investment by Abu Dhabi in a global asset manager. The two firms said in a statement they would set up an investment platform based in Abu Dhabi, offering new funds, with an initial commitment of $2 billion by Lunate, with more capital to be raised from local and international investors “over time”. They did not provide further details on the size or value of the stake in Brevan Howard.

Lunate, which manages $110 billion of assets, is part of a business empire steered by Sheikh Tahnoun bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the United Arab Emirates’ (UAE) national security adviser and brother of UAE President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan.

The Sharjah Entrepreneurship Center (Sheraa) said it has signed an agreement with Startup Middle East to strengthen cross-border collaboration between the UAE and India’s startup ecosystems. This agreement falls within a broader effort to expand market access, connect entrepreneurs to global platforms, and foster collaborative innovation, said Sheraa in a statement.

At the heart of the partnership is the establishment of the Sharjah Centre of India Startup Hub (ISH), a dedicated platform designed to connect Indian entrepreneurs with Sharjah’s innovation ecosystem.

The MoU was signed by Sara Abdulaziz Al Nuaimi, CEO of Sheraa, and Siby Sudhakaran, the CEO of Startup Middle East, at Sheraa’s headquarters in the presence of Anoop Ambika, the CEO of Kerala Startup Mission, and a number of officials and representatives of startup companies in India

Saudi-based Knowledge Economic City (KEC) has announced that it has secured a shariah-compliant financing worth SAR305 million ($81.2 million) from Riyad Bank for completing the remaining residential component of its premium Al Alya Project.

The loan, which is for a tenure of four years, will be utilised as project financing for the execution of the Aliya Residential Apartments -Cluster D, said KEC in its filing to Saudi bourse Tadawul.

Amanat Holdings, a leading healthcare and education listed investment company, has completed the sale of its education real estate asset for AED453 million ($123.35 million).

Delivering an unlevered cash-on-cash multiple of 1.7x and an internal rate of return of 10%, the transaction will generate a net cash return of AED294 million, underscoring the strength of Amanat’s investment strategy, the company said.

Gathern, Saudi Arabia’s leading vacation rental platform, has raised $72 million in a Series B round led by Sanabil Investments, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Public Investment Fund (PIF), with participation from STV, Pinnacle Capital, Nuwa Capital, and Endeavor Catalyst. The funding round values Gathern at over $266 million, making it the highest-valued venture-backed startup in the Middle East founded and led by a woman, according to Termsheet.