The startup scene in Saudi Arabia

Endeavor’s 2023 mapping found that about three-fifths of the Riyadh tech companies it tracked had been founded in the preceding five years. Its entrepreneur sample was evenly divided between founders who had moved to Riyadh and local founders, and the consumer market was the most frequently cited relocation driver, named by 68% of respondents. [Endeavor, 2023]

In Endeavor’s founder survey, respondents described access to customers across consumer, business, and government markets as a perceived strength of Riyadh. The study also reported that nearly two-thirds regarded financing access as a strength, particularly for seed and Series A funding. These are reported founder perceptions. [Endeavor and The Garage study]

StartupBlink’s 2025 city index placed Riyadh 72nd globally and reported 134.1% growth for that edition. [StartupBlink, 2025]

Jahez describes itself as a Saudi-born food-delivery startup that began in 2016 and went public in 2022, later expanding into a broader consumer-services group. Its 2024 company report records SAR 2.2 billion in revenue and 106 million orders across more than 100 cities in three countries. [Jahez]

500 Global says it located its regional headquarters in Riyadh in 2021 and established the Sanabil accelerator and fund there with Sanabil Investments. The operator describes a 12-week Riyadh accelerator for MENA technology startups with early traction; its page displays a September–December 2026 cohort but only earlier 2026 application deadlines, so current intake is not verified. [500 Global]