Riyadh - Sharikat Mubasher: Wa’ed Ventures, the Saudi $500 million venture capital fund backed by Aramco, led a $10 million pre-series A funding round for the US-based biotechnology company Kure Cells.

This investment will accelerate the company’s expansion in the Saudi market by establishing localized R&D and manufacturing capabilities dedicated to advanced cell therapy development, a recent statement revealed.

The round also saw participation from Qomel, a Saudi fast-growing healthcare company, NantBio, and US93.

Kure Cells will use the investment to accelerate the development of its rapid-manufacturing platform for CAR-T therapies and other cell-based oncology therapies.

Commenting on the round, Anas Algahtani, Acting Chief Executive Officer of Wa’ed Ventures, said: “Partnering with Kure Cells is a crucial step in localizing cutting-edge biotech companies in the Kingdom. Their rapid cell therapy manufacturing platform compresses timelines, lowers costs, and broadens patient access while actively building Saudi’s biotech ecosystem through local R&D, talent development, and clinical translation. Together with Kure’s founders, the aim is to advance Saudi Arabia’s healthcare and deliver transformational care to cancer patients.”

In turn, David Wald, Co-founder and Chief Executive Officer of Kure Cells, stated that the partnership represents a major step toward making truly next-generation CAR-T therapies accessible on a global scale. “Together with Wa’ed and our other partners, we aim to bring this transformative capability to the Kingdom and areas of the world with limited accessibility to cell therapy products.”

Moreover, Kure Cells will work closely with Saudi researchers and clinicians to adapt its proprietary rapid-manufacturing platform to local regulatory and clinical environments.