Gate Capital News Letter | Issue 724

The Public Investment Fund (PIF) and Aramco announced today, Oct. 28, signing a non-binding term sheet outlining the key terms for Aramco to acquire a significant minority stake in HUMAIN, a PIF company, advancing a full range of AI capabilities globally. PIF and Aramco would contribute AI assets, capabilities and talent into HUMAIN, with PIF and Aramco as its shareholders, Aramco and the Kingdom’s sovereign wealth fund said in a joint statement.

Kamco Invest, a regional non-banking financial powerhouse with one of the largest AUMs in the region, announced today (October 28) that its private equity team has acquired a stake in Unifonic, on behalf of its clients. Unifonic is leading customer engagement platform and SaaS provider in the Mena region.  Established in 2006, Unifonic today supports more than 1,700 businesses with over 10 billion annual transactions processed in different channels.

Tabby, the Saudi Arabia–headquartered financial services app, today confirmed the completion of a secondary sale of shares held by certain existing shareholders. As part of the transaction, HSG, Boyu Capital and others acquired shares from existing investors, resulting in an implied company valuation of $4.5 billion. No new Tabby shares were issued and the company did not receive any proceeds from the sale.

Hosam Arab, CEO and Co-Founder at Tabby, said, “We’re proud to welcome our new shareholders who share Tabby’s ambitions and the impact we’re making on financial services across the region.”

UAE-based Al-Futtaim Group announced its commitment to invest SAR 10 billion over the next three years in Saudi Arabia. The new investment builds on its existing portfolio in the country, which already exceeds SAR 5 billion, the company said in a statement.

The move aims to accelerate expansion across key growth sectors that align with the Kingdom’s diversification and sustainability goals.

Wa’ed Ventures, the Saudi Aramco-backed $500 million venture capital fund, announces leading the $10 million Pre-Series A funding round in Kure Cells, a U.S.-based biotechnology company focused on next-generation cell therapies. The investment is aimed at accelerating the company’s development of its rapid-manufacturing platform for CAR-T therapies (an advanced form of cancer treatment that modifies a patient’s immune cells to recognize and destroy cancer cells) and other cell-based oncology therapies.

Tabreed, a leading district cooling company, has announced the successful raising of AED1.8 billion ($490.13 million) new bank debt to support its strategic growth initiatives and optimise its capital structure. The new loan is part of Tabreed’s plans to finance the company’s capital needs and diversify its funding sources, including funding investment and growth requirements, said a Wam news agency report.

Mubadala Capital, a subsidiary of Abu Dhabi’s Mubadala Investment Company, has led a $1.4 billion funding round for data centre start-up Crusoe, according to a Financial Times report. Mubadala Capital, along with US investment firm Valor Equity Partners, took the lead in the oversubscribed equity fundraising round, which has resulted in Crusoe more than tripling its valuation to over $10 billion in one year, the FT report added.

Oman-based KitchenomiKs, the fastest-growing food technology company from Oman, has secured a new funding round led by Jasoor Ventures, bringing its total raised capital to $6.7 million.

US-based fintech MidLyr has raised $2.5 million in pre-seed funding led by Silicon Badia, with participation from Wedbush Ventures, Hustle Fund, DCG, and Story Ventures.

With the new funding, MidLyr will accelerate product development, expand its partnerships with banks and fintechs, and hire talent across the US and the Middle East, leveraging regional expertise in engineering and data science as a long-term differentiator

Saudi-based logistics technology company Logexa has successfully concluded a $2 million pre-Series A funding round, led by SEEDRA Ventures and including investments from Nour Nouf Ventures and several angel investors.

Logexa operates in the shared warehousing and transportation sector, focusing on optimising underutilised storage and transport capacity across multiple Saudi cities.

Saudi Arabia-based contech BRKZ has secured up to $30 million in growth debt from Stride Ventures.  The new facility will enable BRKZ to expand its flexible payment and embedded financing solutions, empowering contractors and factories to better manage cash flow cycles and scale operations.

Founded in 2023 by Ibrahim Manna, BRKZ is a B2B contech that provides a large selection of suppliers and materials through its platform.

UAE-based proptech Property Finder has invested in Stake, a UAE-based digital real estate investment platform, in an undisclosed deal value. Founded in 2021 by Manar Mahmassani, Rami Tabbara and Ricardo Brizido, Stake enables users to invest in fractional property ownership and private real estate funds starting from AED 500.

The partnership underscores both companies’ shared values of trust, transparency, and innovation.

Abu Dhabi National Energy Co. (TAQA) has sold its entire stake in an Indian power company for approximately 387 million dirhams ($105 million). The Abu Dhabi-listed integrated utility company divested its 100% stake in TAQA Neyveli Power Company Private Limited to MEIL Energy Private Limited, an affiliate of Megha Engineering & Infrastructures Limited (MEIL), an India-headquartered diversified conglomerate.

Enterprises have spent decades becoming digital. Now, they must become AI-native. UnifyApps, the company building the Enterprise Operating System for AI, today announced a $50 million Series B led by WestBridge Capital with participation from ICONIQ and others. The new capital brings UnifyApps’ total funding to $81 million and marks a new phase of scale with Ragy Thomas joining as Chairman and Co-CEO, alongside existing co-founder and CEO Pavitar Singh.

Arabian Dyar Real Estate Development Company has announced a strategic partnership with Google, marking the launch of a new phase in its transformation into a real estate intelligence company.

Involving an investment of up to $100 million, the collaboration represents a qualitative shift in Arabian Dyar’s business model, leveraging artificial intelligence (AI) and big data analytics to redefine development strategy, investment decision-making, and project design.

The partnership was officially signed on Day 1 of the Future Investment Initiative (FII) 2025 in Riyadh, marking Arabian Dyar’s inaugural participation at the prestigious event.

Saudi Fisheries Co. (SFICO) sold a 51% ownership stake in Al-Haridah Aquaculture Co. to Sara National Trading Co., a statement to Tadawul indicated. The agreement, concluded today, Oct. 28, mandated the transfer of contracts, licenses, and project-related assets to Sara National, in line with the terms outlined in the deal.

Piper Sandler Companies, a leading investment bank, announced today that it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire MENA Growth Partners, a merchant bank based in Abu Dhabi that will serve as its strategic investment banking hub in the GCC region.

Riyadh Cables Group Co. entered on Oct. 27 into a share purchase agreement (SPA) with the owners of Artikul Aziya Kabel LLC in Uzbekistan, through its wholly owned subsidiary Riyadh Cables Co., to acquire 51% of the shares of Artikul Aziya for SAR 147.7 million.