Ghada Ismail

As artificial intelligence rapidly reshapes business operations across industries, companies are increasingly exploring how AI agents, enterprise solutions, and localized language models can transform decision-making and efficiency.

In this interview, Anas Elkhatib, Co-Founder and CTO of THAKAA AI Decision Support System, discusses how AI is redefining enterprise operations, the rise of agentic AI, and why Saudi Arabia is positioning itself as a key hub for artificial intelligence innovation.

How is AI transforming your core business operations, products, or services?

AI is truly the revolution of this era. One of the clearest ways we see its impact is in how it improves efficiency and return on investment across business operations.

For example, processes such as generating reports used to take weeks. Companies would need to gather data from multiple sources, organize it, and analyze it before producing meaningful insights. With AI solutions like the ones we provide at THAKAA AI Decision Support System, this entire process can now be completed in seconds.

Instead of manually compiling information, a user can interact directly with an AI agent. You can even have a phone call or a video call with the AI. During the interaction, the AI can present dashboards, answer questions in real time, and provide insights or recommendations.

It can also extract market data and compare a company’s performance with broader industry benchmarks within seconds. In practical terms, AI allows organizations to transform decision-making cycles from weeks into seconds while saving significant time and effort.

What recent AI innovations are you most excited about?

The speed of innovation in AI is remarkable—every day, there seems to be something new. Chatbots were the earliest and simplest stage of AI interaction, but today, the most exciting development is the concept of Agentic AI.

Agentic AI involves multiple AI agents with specialized knowledge communicating with one another. It works almost like a virtual team.

For instance, in our demonstrations we present what we call a virtual CXO team. Under each executive role—such as a virtual CFO—you can have supporting functions like financial planning and analysis or cost control. These AI agents communicate with each other. If one agent receives a question it cannot answer, it can consult another agent, such as a CHRO or CFO agent, to provide the necessary information.

In this way, AI agents collaborate internally to deliver more comprehensive responses and insights.

Does that mean AI will eventually replace human workers?

AI may replace certain roles, but it is important to emphasize the concept of human-in-the-loop.

Every recommendation produced by AI should be supervised by humans. In our systems, we do not allow AI to act independently. Instead, we control issues such as hallucination through enterprise-level solutions that ensure the AI only responds using trusted data.

Rather than relying on public information, the generative AI model is trained on the organization’s own internal data. This makes the system more reliable and secure.

At the same time, it is realistic to say that some jobs may change as AI becomes more widespread. However, new opportunities will also emerge. AI can increase productivity and create new economic activity, which ultimately leads to new roles and industries.

The key for individuals is to continue developing their skills and adapting to new technologies.

Are there any collaborations or partnerships your company is building in Saudi Arabia?

Yes, and we actually consider all of our customers in Saudi Arabia to be partners.

At THAKAA AI Decision Support System, we work with several public-sector entities, including the Ministry of Agriculture, the Ministry of Finance, and the Saudi Data and AI Authority. On the commercial side, we collaborate with organizations such as Jabal Omar in Makkah and other private-sector clients.

Our approach is based on knowledge exchange. When we implement our solutions, we share our technical expertise and lessons learned from previous projects. In return, our customers share their knowledge about their own industries and operational needs.

Because of this exchange of expertise, every client becomes a strategic partner that contributes to improving the overall solution.

Which sectors in Saudi Arabia are most ready for AI transformation?

Saudi Arabia is generally a very dynamic and rapidly developing market for AI adoption. However, if we look at industries that are particularly ready for large-scale implementation, I would highlight oil and gas and banking.

Enterprise AI solutions can require significant investment. Industries with strong financial resources are therefore often the earliest adopters. Oil and gas companies and financial institutions have the capacity to absorb these costs and implement AI at scale.

As technology becomes more accessible, we expect adoption to expand across many other sectors as well.

How does THAKAA approach responsible and ethical AI deployment?

Responsible AI is a key priority for us. From the beginning, our solutions have been designed with strong privacy and security frameworks.

Our platform is built as an enterprise solution rather than a consumer AI tool. This means that protecting company data is central to the system architecture.

For example, we apply several techniques to control AI hallucination, including advanced prompting and retrieval-augmented generation methods. We also implement strict security protocols when dealing with personally identifiable information (PII).

Sensitive information—such as employee names or contact details—is encrypted and masked to ensure it cannot be leaked or misused.

Additionally, we comply with regulatory frameworks issued by authorities such as the Saudi Data and AI Authority (SDAIA) and the National Cybersecurity Authority. In some cases, the system is deployed on-premises to ensure that all sensitive data remains fully secure within the organization.

Do your AI solutions support Arabic, including Saudi dialects?

Yes, and that is one of the key differentiators of our platform.

THAKAA was developed with Arabic language capabilities from the beginning. The system can communicate naturally in Arabic, including the Saudi dialect.

For example, we use the technology in call center environments. In many cases, people speaking with the AI cannot easily distinguish whether they are interacting with a human agent or an AI system.

The interaction feels very natural, which demonstrates how far conversational AI technology has evolved.

How do you see AI shaping the broader business landscape in Saudi Arabia?

AI is already becoming a central part of Saudi Arabia’s long-term economic vision.

The Kingdom is forming strategic partnerships with global technology companies to build advanced data centers and GPU infrastructure. These investments will support the development and deployment of large language models.

If LLMs are hosted locally in Saudi Arabia, government institutions, banks, and other organizations will be able to adopt AI technologies more easily and securely.

From my perspective, the AI ecosystem can be divided into three categories. The first includes companies that focus on hardware infrastructure. The second includes companies developing large language models. The third includes companies building practical AI applications and solutions—like what we do at THAKAA.

Saudi Arabia is supporting all three layers of this ecosystem. The country is investing in infrastructure, supporting LLM development, and encouraging the growth of AI startups.

Startups are particularly important because they form the backbone of any AI economy. When governments create supportive regulations and provide resources for startups, the long-term economic impact can be significant.

Kholoud Hussein 

Saudi Arabia’s retail sector is undergoing a profound structural transformation, one that extends far beyond the shift from physical stores to online shopping. What is emerging instead is an entirely new retail ecosystem—one driven by data, intelligent automation, frictionless payments, and a generation of startups building tools that are quietly redefining the consumer journey. This evolution represents more than digital modernization. It signals a deeper economic recalibration that positions retail as a pillar of the Kingdom’s diversification strategy under Saudi Vision 2030.

As one senior official at the Ministry of Commerce recently put it: “Saudi retail is not simply expanding. It is industrializing—becoming smarter, faster, and more integrated than at any time in the Kingdom’s history.”
This framing captures the shift underway. Retail is no longer a passive consumer-driven sector. It is a strategic domain where technology, logistics, and financial innovation converge to create new economic value.

A Market Entering Its Most Transformational Phase

Saudi Arabia’s retail market is expected to surpass SAR 600 billion by 2030, making it one of the largest consumer markets in the Middle East. Several factors fuel this expansion: rapid population growth, a young demographic with high digital literacy, and rising household incomes supported by economic diversification initiatives.

But the real inflection point comes from behavioral change. Saudi consumers have embraced digital lifestyles with extraordinary speed. Data from the Communications, Space & Technology Commission shows e-commerce transactions rising by more than 32% year over year, a figure that outpaces most global markets. The Kingdom’s consumers are shifting from traditional browsing to algorithm-assisted product discovery, from in-store purchasing to omnichannel shopping, and from cash-based transactions to embedded digital payments.

This accelerating adoption matters because it forces retailers—large and small—to transition into digital enterprises. They must now manage integrated supply chains, unify inventory across channels, deploy advanced analytics, and deliver personalized experiences at scale. Many legacy retailers are not equipped to do this alone. This is where Saudi startups emerge as catalysts, introducing the tools that allow the sector to leapfrog traditional retail development stages.

Technology Is Redefining the DNA of Saudi Retail

Across the Kingdom, technology is reshaping the retail value chain end-to-end. What once depended on human coordination is increasingly managed by data-driven systems and AI-powered automation. Retailers now operate with real-time visibility across stock levels, customer preferences, supply bottlenecks, and demand patterns—all of which feed into strategic decisions that were previously based on intuition.

E-Commerce Becomes the Engine of Retail Growth

E-commerce is no longer a secondary channel for Saudi retailers—it has become the command center of the retail business model. For many enterprises, the digital storefront is now the primary point of engagement with customers. This shift is particularly visible in sectors such as fashion, beauty, electronics, and groceries, where online purchase frequency has multiplied since the pandemic.

Retailers are responding by investing heavily in backend architecture—cloud-based inventory systems, API integrations, AI recommendation engines, and automated fulfillment networks. A senior official at the Ministry of Commerce explained:
“Digital retail is no longer optional. Customers expect a high level of integration and immediate responsiveness across all channels.”

This pressure has given rise to a new generation of retail-tech startups. Companies like Zid and Salla provide ready-made e-commerce infrastructure that enables thousands of small retailers to enter the digital marketplace with minimal technical expertise. Their platforms have become essential to the Kingdom’s retail digitalization curve.

Payments Become Seamless, Instant, and Intelligent

Few changes illustrate the pace of Saudi retail transformation as clearly as the rapid rise of digital payments. According to the Saudi Central Bank, more than 70% of all retail transactions in the Kingdom are now cashless, surpassing the Vision 2030 target well ahead of schedule.

This transition is not merely about convenience. Digital payments have become a strategic enabler of retail data intelligence. Every digital transaction generates insights—frequency, average order value, preferred channels, peak purchase times—that retailers use to optimize pricing, inventory, and promotional strategies.

BNPL platforms such as Tamara have reshaped consumer behavior by offering flexibility and increasing purchasing power, especially among younger consumers. Digital wallets like STC Pay and Apple Pay have made mobile payments ubiquitous, even in traditional stores. The rollout of open banking is set to deepen this transformation, enabling retailers to integrate financial services directly into the shopping experience.

Logistics Becomes a Competitive Weapon

Saudi Arabia’s geographic scale and the rise of same-day delivery expectations have made logistics technology one of the most critical components of retail competitiveness. The growth of e-commerce has driven retailers to rethink fulfillment from the ground up, investing in automation, hyperlocal warehouses, and multi-node distribution networks.

Local startups have led this evolution. Platforms such as Mrsool and Saee have introduced flexible delivery models that connect thousands of drivers with retailers, expanding delivery capacity on demand. Meanwhile, specialized logistics startups have developed AI-powered route optimization, predictive inventory planning, and real-time tracking systems that reduce operational inefficiencies.

Logistics is no longer a back-office function. It is core to the customer experience—and retail brands are realizing that speed, transparency, and reliability are as important as the product itself.

Physical Stores Are Becoming Data-Driven

While digital commerce surges, physical retail is far from fading. Instead, stores across Riyadh, Jeddah, and Dammam are being reinvented as experiential and data-rich environments. Smart shelves, RFID tagging, in-store analytics, and self-checkout kiosks are increasingly common.

Retailers now analyze heat maps of customer movement, track dwell time at product displays, and personalize in-store promotions through digital signage. This convergence of digital and physical is creating what industry analysts call “phygital retail”—a blended environment where the store becomes as measurable and adaptive as a website.

As one official from the retail modernization program summarized:
“Retail in Saudi Arabia is no longer about aisles and shelves. It is about data, sensors, and experience.”

Startups Are the Hidden Architects Behind the Sector’s Transformation

Saudi startups are not simply contributing to retail digitalization—they are shaping the operating model of the sector. Their role can be understood through three core contributions: digital infrastructure, vertical innovation, and omnichannel integration.

Digital Infrastructure for the Entire Retail Economy

Companies like Foodics have built foundational systems—such as cloud POS—that allow thousands of cafes, restaurants, and retailers to digitize operations. Their tools manage everything from sales and inventory to staff scheduling and customer engagement.

These platforms are particularly crucial for SMEs, which make up more than 1 million retail businesses in Saudi Arabia. By giving these companies access to enterprise-grade tools, startups are lifting the technological baseline of the entire sector.

New Retail Verticals Driven by Startups

Startups are also introducing entirely new retail categories—online pharmacies, direct-to-consumer beauty brands, pet marketplaces, and subscription-based grocery models. These categories were either underserved or nonexistent before the digital economy took hold.

Their growth demonstrates how technology unlocks consumer segments that traditional retailers overlooked.

Enabling True Omnichannel Retail

Perhaps the most significant impact of startups is their role in building omnichannel retail—integrating online and offline experiences into a single ecosystem.

Startups now provide unified dashboards that merge inventory, payments, loyalty programs, customer data, and marketing campaigns across all channels. This ensures that retailers can deliver consistent service whether the consumer is shopping online, on mobile, or in-store.

Government Support as a Strategic Accelerator

Saudi Arabia’s retail transformation is heavily supported by national policy. Under Vision 2030, the government views retail modernization as an economic multiplier that stimulates SME growth, boosts local content, and expands the digital economy.

Programs from Monsha’at offer financing, grants, and business development services to retail SMEs. The Ministry of Commerce enforces digital invoicing, consumer protection regulations, and fair competition laws that strengthen the sector's integrity. Meanwhile, the government’s aggressive push toward cashless payments has dramatically accelerated digital commerce adoption.

A senior policymaker recently noted:
“Retail is the biggest employer in the Kingdom. Modernizing this sector means modernizing the entire economy.”

Saudi Retail Over the Next Five Years

Looking ahead, the Saudi retail sector is set to become one of the most technologically advanced consumer markets in the region. Several forces will define this trajectory:

AI will become embedded in every part of retail—from demand forecasting and customer service automation to product recommendation models and dynamic pricing engines. Retail media networks will emerge, turning retailers into advertising platforms that monetize their digital touchpoints. Physical stores will increasingly integrate Internet-of-Things sensors, computer vision, and predictive analytics, transforming them into intelligent spaces. Logistics will enter a new phase of automation with robotics and drone-supported delivery. Lastly, sustainability will become integral, with energy-efficient stores, optimized cooling, and smart waste management becoming sector norms.

To conclude, Saudi Arabia’s retail transformation is not an incremental shift—it is a structural rewrite of how the sector operates. Technology has moved from being a support function to being the organizing principle of retail strategy. Startups sit at the center of this shift, providing the tools, platforms, and innovations that allow the sector to evolve faster than traditional players could manage alone.

The Kingdom’s consumer economy is being reborn—more digital, more data-driven, more efficient, and more aligned with global trends. As Saudi Arabia pushes toward its 2030 goals, the retail sector is emerging as one of the clearest examples of how technology and entrepreneurship can reshape an entire economic landscape.

Ghada Ismail

Imagine running a growing business with strong sales and promising prospects, only to realize you don’t have enough cash to pay suppliers or salaries next month. This situation, where money becomes suddenly tight despite an otherwise healthy business, is known as a ‘Liquidity Crunch’.

For entrepreneurs, investors, and managers, understanding liquidity crunches is essential. Even companies that appear healthy on the surface can suddenly find themselves struggling if cash flow dries up.

Understanding Liquidity

Before diving into what a liquidity crunch is, it helps to understand the idea of liquidity itself.

Liquidity simply refers to how easily a business can access cash to cover its short-term expenses. These expenses include things like paying employees, settling supplier invoices, covering rent, or servicing debt.

Cash is the most liquid asset a company can have. But businesses may also hold other assets that can be quickly turned into cash, such as short-term investments or marketable securities.

A company might look profitable on paper but still face liquidity problems. This often happens when money is tied up in inventory, unpaid customer invoices, or long-term investments that cannot be quickly converted into cash.

So, What Is a Liquidity Crunch?

A liquidity crunch occurs when a company—or even an entire financial system—suddenly finds itself short on cash or easily accessible funds.

In simple terms, it means a business doesn’t have enough readily available money to cover its immediate obligations.

There are many reasons this situation can arise. Customers may delay payments. Costs might rise unexpectedly. Access to credit could tighten. Investors might pull back on funding. Sometimes broader economic shocks or market downturns can also trigger a liquidity squeeze.

When this happens, companies may be forced to make difficult decisions. They might cut costs, sell assets, raise emergency funding, or delay certain payments just to keep operations running.

Why Startups Are Especially Vulnerable

Startups are particularly exposed to liquidity crunches. Unlike mature companies with stable revenue streams, startups often rely heavily on external funding from venture capital investors. If a planned funding round gets delayed or investors suddenly become cautious, a startup can quickly find itself struggling to pay salaries or cover operational costs.

This became especially visible during periods when global venture capital slowed down. Many startups were forced to cut spending, freeze hiring, or lay off employees simply to extend their financial runway.

For startups, managing liquidity is often a matter of survival.

Liquidity Crunches in the Wider Economy

Liquidity crunches don’t just affect individual businesses. Entire financial systems can experience them as well.

A well-known example occurred during the Global Financial Crisis of 2007–2009. As uncertainty spread across financial markets, banks became increasingly reluctant to lend to one another in the interbank market due to fears about counterparty solvency. This loss of trust caused institutions to hoard cash, dramatically slowing the flow of credit and creating severe liquidity shortages. In response, central banks such as the Federal Reserve and the European Central Bank intervened with emergency lending programs and large-scale liquidity injections to stabilize markets and restore confidence.

Early Warning Signs

Liquidity crunches rarely appear overnight. Businesses often see warning signs beforehand.

One of the clearest signals is shrinking cash reserves. Another is a growing gap between the money coming in and the money going out.

Other red flags may include increasing reliance on short-term loans, delays in paying suppliers, or difficulty securing new financing.

Companies that closely monitor their cash flow are usually better positioned to spot these problems early.

How Companies Protect Themselves

While no business is completely immune to liquidity problems, there are ways to reduce the risk.

Maintaining healthy cash reserves is one of the most effective safeguards. Businesses can also diversify their funding sources, negotiate flexible payment terms with suppliers, and regularly review their cash flow forecasts.

Having access to credit lines or emergency financing can also provide a critical safety net during periods when cash becomes tight.

To Wrap Things Up…

A liquidity crunch may sound like a technical financial term, but in reality, it can become a defining moment for a company.

Even businesses with strong growth and solid revenue can run into trouble if they cannot access cash when they need it.

For entrepreneurs and executives, the lesson is simple: profitability is important, but cash flow is even more critical. Companies that carefully manage their liquidity are far better prepared to navigate economic shocks and periods of uncertainty.

Kholoud Hussein 

Rejection is a normal part of startup fundraising, but for many founders, it still feels like a dead end. The reality is far more encouraging: a “no” from an investor rarely means forever. In growing ecosystems such as Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and broader global markets, many startups end up securing funding from the very same investors who had previously rejected them. The difference often comes down to timing, progress, and persistence.

In venture capital, rejection is seldom a judgment on a startup’s potential. More often, it reflects internal fund timing, sector focus, capital availability, or simple misalignment. A startup that doesn’t fit a fund’s mandate today may be perfectly positioned six months later. Investors routinely admit that many of their best deals started with an initial pass.

Fundamentals also evolve quickly. Early-stage startups often get turned down because revenue isn’t stable, customer acquisition isn’t mature, or the product still needs validation. When founders return with stronger metrics, better economics, and clearer customer traction, the investment conversation changes entirely. Investors respect momentum. They also notice founders who take feedback seriously and return with evidence of improvement.

Founders sometimes forget that relationships outlast rejections. Venture investing is built on long-term engagement, not one-off meetings. A professional, well-handled decline lays the groundwork for future opportunities. Many successful founders maintain consistent investor updates—short monthly emails highlighting progress and challenges. These updates keep the company on investors’ radar and often lead to renewed interest, especially when numbers start moving in the right direction.

Market timing is another major factor. Just as startups evolve, markets shift. A sector that seemed unappealing at the time of a pitch can suddenly become high-priority due to regulatory changes, technological breakthroughs, or macroeconomic shifts. Recent years have shown this clearly: climate tech surged after net-zero commitments, AI exploded after generative models took hold, and fintech rebounded after regulatory advancements in the GCC. A startup deemed “too early” can quickly become “exactly right.”

Today’s founders also have more funding options than ever before. The rise of sovereign funds, corporate venture capital, angel syndicates, family offices, government-backed accelerators, and alternative financing models means one rejection does not signal the end of the road. Often, the right investor is simply in a different corner of the ecosystem.

Ultimately, rejection shapes better founders. It demands clarity, forces refinement, and tests resilience. Many successful entrepreneurs credit their early rejections for sharpening their pitch, strengthening their business model, and pushing them toward deeper customer understanding. Investors, for their part, watch closely how founders react. A constructive response signals maturity, discipline, and leadership—traits VCs value as highly as revenue.

In fast-growing markets like Saudi Arabia, where capital pools are diversifying and competition among investors is rising, a rejection today is more likely to be a temporary pause than a definitive judgment. Founders who continue building, improving, and communicating often find the door opens again—and this time, more widely than before.

Rejection is not a verdict. It’s a checkpoint. And for many startups, it becomes the very step that leads to their strongest investment partners.

Noha Gad

For any publicly traded company, capital is the fuel that powers growth, innovation, and survival. Traditionally, when a company needed to raise money, it had two well-worn paths: borrow from lenders or issue new shares to the public through a secondary offering. Both routes come with significant baggage: the assessment of regulators, the market instability, and the changing moods of thousands of retail and institutional investors.

Private investment in public equity (PIPE) emerged as a third path that bridges private capital with public markets. At its core, a PIPE transaction flips the traditional fundraising model on its head. Instead of offering shares to the open market, a public company sells a block of its securities directly to a select group of accredited investors under a private placement exemption. The deal is negotiated behind closed doors, executed with relative speed, and only later disclosed to the public.

What is a PIPE?

PIPE refers to any private placement of securities of an already-public company that is made to selected accredited investors. Unlike traditional placements, PIPEs often include resale registration to enable investors to sell into public markets later, offering a faster capital-raising alternative to secondary offerings.

Through this model, private investors buy shares via a private placement in return for ownership of the company, while the company receives financing from them. This financing technique often allows private investors to acquire publicly traded securities at a price typically below market value.

Why does a PIPE matter?

PIPE enables companies to receive and access funding faster than traditional public offerings, which involve extensive regulatory requirements. This type of funding can resolve the company’s immediate liquidity issue and improve its financial position. Additionally, its terms are more flexible as they can be tailored to investors’ preferences, often providing more favorable conditions for investors, which increases the likelihood of securing financing.

PIPE transactions come in several types, each tailored to different company needs and investor preferences. The two primary categories are traditional and structured. These types form the foundation, with additional variations like convertible and registered direct offerings providing further flexibility.

In traditional PIPEs, investors purchase common or preferred stock at a fixed discount to the current market price, offering simplicity and speed for companies needing quick capital. This type suits stable companies funding growth without complex protections, as it avoids intricate securities.

Meanwhile, structured PIPEs involve equity-linked instruments such as convertible bonds or preferred shares issued at a slight premium, converting to common stock later with features such as interest payments or downside protection. Other types of PIPEs include:

-Convertible PIPE. These investments use instruments that convert into equity later, often at a pre-agreed conversion price. It allows companies to raise funds today while delaying share issuance. 

-Registered direct offering (RDO). This type is registered with regulators, allowing resale of securities in public markets. It offers faster access to capital with greater transparency than private placements.

-Equity line of Credit (ELOC). This type offers a flexible funding line from investors, enabling companies to draw capital in phases. Its staged funding reduces immediate market impact and helps manage share dilution effectively. 

Pros and Cons of PIPEs

PIPE financing offers compelling advantages for both public companies seeking capital and sophisticated investors hunting for opportunities. By streamlining the fundraising process, it delivers speed, flexibility, and cost savings in a volatile market. Key benefits include:

       *Lower issuance costs: PIPEs save up extensive marketing costs, underwriting fees and administrative fees compared to traditional offerings.

       *Flexibility in financing: Tailored towards investors’ conditions, PIPEs can make it more appealing to investors and increasing the likelihood of success.

       *Speed and efficiency in financing. PIPEs allow companies to sell shares directly to investors without having to go through the usual process of registering with the government.

Disadvantages

Although PIPE financing is efficient, it carries notable disadvantages that can impact companies, shareholders, and investors alike. This includes:

       *Dilution of shareholdings. PIPE transactions involve the issuance of new shares, which results in the dilution of existing shareholders’ ownership. 

       *Impact of share price. PIPEs are often issued at a discounted price, which may create a signaling effect in the market. This can potentially lead to investor concerns and increased selling pressure on the stock.

       *Market perception towards the company. PIPE transactions can sometimes be perceived as a sign of financial distress, indicating challenges in securing funding through traditional means. This may negatively impact the company’s market reputation.