Saudi Arabia leads the region in venture capital investment with $1.72 billion in 2025
Saudi Arabia has cemented its position as a rising digital economic powerhouse, continuing its dominance of the region's startup scene and recording a qualitative leap in the venture capital sector during 2025. The Kingdom achieved the highest growth rate in the Middle East and North Africa region at an astonishing 145% year-on-year, with the value of funding jumping to about $1.72 billion, the highest figure recorded since 2018, reflecting an accelerated maturation in the local investment environment.
Reports and data from Magnitt, the leading source for investment data in emerging markets, revealed a historic shift in the balance of investment power. For the first time, Saudi Arabia became the most active market in terms of the number of deals, not just the value. The Kingdom recorded approximately 257 investment deals, a 45% increase compared to the previous year, surpassing all its traditional competitors in the region.
These figures cannot be viewed in isolation from the broader economic context of the Kingdom under Vision 2030. This exceptional growth is a direct result of the National Transformation Program and government initiatives aimed at diversifying income sources away from oil. Vital entities such as the Saudi Venture Capital Company (SVC) and the Public Investment Fund (PIF) have played a pivotal role in injecting liquidity and stimulating the private sector, in addition to legislative reforms that have facilitated business operations and attracted international entrepreneurs and investors to establish their headquarters in Riyadh.
The data confirmed that the Kingdom continues to lead the Middle East and North Africa region in terms of venture capital investment value for the third consecutive year. Notably, the 2025 statistics show that Saudi Arabia alone accounted for more than 50% of total venture capital investments in the region, a strong indicator of the high level of confidence investors have in the Saudi economy and the attractiveness of its entrepreneurial ecosystem, which now rivals global innovation hubs.
At the regional level, data showed that the total value of venture capital investment in the region reached approximately $3.43 billion, distributed across 581 deals involving 433 investors. This activity indicates that the region as a whole is witnessing an improvement in risk appetite and support for innovation, but Saudi Arabia is leading this growth by a significant margin, reinforcing its ambitions to become the leading regional hub for technology, innovation, and the digital economy in the coming years.
