Riyadh - Sharikat Mubasher: The Saudi Venture Capital Company (SVC) launched the ‘Global Investment in Saudi Arabia's Private Markets’ report, offering an evidence-based view of the Kingdom’s rapid growth in private capital investments from 2019 to 2025.
The report defined foreign private capital as investments made by foreign capital in Saudi private companies, either directly or through foreign funds, including capital that those funds may have raised from local investors.
Foreign private capital inflows jumped to SAR 20 billion in 2025 from SAR 3.2 billion in 2024, accounting for 60% of the Kingdom's total private capital inflows. Cumulatively, more than SAR 40 billion of foreign private capital has flown into the Kingdom since 2019. These numbers reinforce the country’s position as a compelling long-term investment destination.
Saudi Arabia has maintained its position as the largest VC market in MENA over the past two consecutive years, with SAR 2.7 billion in VC funding deployed in 2024, representing approximately 40% of the region's total. Of this, 36% of VC investment (SAR 951 million) came from foreign investors, growing from 21% in 2019.
The strong momentum continued into 2025, with foreign investments reaching SAR 2.1 billion. Over the past five years, VC funding from foreign investors has increased 10x, with deal count rising from 27 in 2019 to 89 in 2025.
In VC, early-stage funding, which includes pre-seed and seed, continued to dominate, representing 62% of total deal volume in 2024. These rounds have seen steady growth in value, with the average deal size increasing from SAR 1 million in 2019 to SAR 6 million in 2025. In contrast, Series A and B rounds remain limited, accounting for only 15% in 2025.
Foreign PE capital has been deployed across a wide range of sectors in the last five years, with Edtech, food & beverage (F&B), and healthcare emerging as the dominant ones. Together, these sectors accounted for 47% of PE deal volumes between 2019 and 2025.
The Global Investment in Saudi Arabia's Private Markets report explored the dynamics of private capital investment in Saudi Arabia, highlighting the momentum, emerging trends, and strategic shifts in sectors. By showcasing success stories and investor perspectives, it uncovered areas where foreign investor interest is robust.
It positions Saudi Arabia not merely as a high-growth emerging market but as a mature, scalable hub for sustainable, long-term private capital deployment, strategically positioned at the intersection of global investment flows and regional innovation.
