Saudi turning into global player tech investment, says 500 Global chief

JEDDAH: Saudi Arabia is fast becoming a global player in terms of startups and venture funding, said the CEO of 500 Global.

In an exclusive interview with Arab News, Christine Tsai said: “2020 was really a record year (for Saudi Arabia) in terms of startups and venture funding and new funds and a lot of support from various important stakeholders.

She praised the Kingdom for its technological developments in financial technology, e-commerce, and e-health.

500 Global, previously known as 500 Startups, is an early-stage venture fund and seed accelerator based in the Silicon Valley, California.

It made its first investment in the Kingdom in 2012 and established its Middle East headquarters in Riyadh last year.

“A lot of this was driven by the fact that we see a lot of very strong founder talent, local talent.

“There was a capital gap in a lot of markets and we’ve seen over the past 10 years capital starts to catch up. Now the world is a very different place; companies are starting to mature and more people are interested in getting exposure to venture capital to tech. So, as a result, there’s more capital coming into the market,” she said.

Tsai said the most promising sector in the Kingdom